Balancing Life
by miano53
Summary: After winning the Kras City Grand Championship, Jak begins to settle down into civilian life...with a lot of difficulty. Will the hero be able to juggle parenthood with whatever else the Precursors throw at him?
1. Chapter 1

_So, this is my first Jak and Daxter story published on this website. This will take place after Jak X, but before the Lost Frontier. So, don't go hard on me if you all want a lot of cursing from Jak. From what I remember, he didn't do much in the way of cursing (and I don't write curse words down in my writings). And I'll differentiate between Jak's dark and light sides. Anywho, here's the first chapter. Also, I own nothing that happens in the story. So, don't go hard if you find things that look familiar._

_-miano53_

* * *

"_I guess even parenthood can change dark heroes."_

_-A bartender in Haven City_

Chapter One: Early Arrivals and Reasons Why You Don't Bother Wumpbees

_Six months after the Kras City Grand Championship, Haven City's Downtown…_

Jak, who waited outside in a waiting room, sat in a chair as he had taken Keira to the hospital earlier for what were severe cramps. Those cramps had turned into contractions and Jak knew exactly what was going on. The twins that he had helped conceived were coming into the world mighty fast.

As he sat there, nurses and doctors passed him by, moving patients around the hospital. One doctor walked up to him and said, "Mar? Jak Mar?"

Jak looked up at him and the doctor told him, "Well...I have some news for you."

"What?" Jak said, not liking where the conversation was going.

"She lost a lot of blood and the twins have been rushed to the NICU. The mother's…well…she's been played in critical condition…" the doctor said.

Jak immediately tuned out and started remembering when Keira had told her about her "condition".

* * *

_Five months ago, Keira's apartment…_

_After getting some things for Keira, Jak entered Keira's apartment and saw that the teal haired young adult sat on the couch, holding something in her hand. Jak saw that the something was a pregnancy test. 'Oh crap,' he thought._

'_**Maybe you should run. Don't look back. Just be a lifelong bachelor**,' his dark side told him._

'_No. He fathered that kid! He can't just leave,' his lighter half told the dark._

'_**Jak, just leave! It's not like you're married to her**,' the dark said._

'_If he does that, he'll bring ruin to the family name!' the light said._

'_QUIET!' Jak thought, getting a headache from the two sides of him._

"_Um…what's that for?" Jak asked Keira._

"_Jak…um…I'm…" Keira said._

'_**Not pregnant. Please say 'not pregnant'!**' the dark half said, giving Jak a headache._

'_Pregnant! Pregnant!' the light half said, causing Jak more of a headache._

"_I'm pregnant…" Keira said._

_Jak dropped whatever he was holding and yelled, "NO!"_

"_What? Why are you screaming 'no'? This is a blessing!" Keira yelled._

"_But we're not ready," Jak said._

"_Then we will get ready. First, we have to get married. I'm not bringing a child into this world out of wedlock. And besides, we have to or else it'll all be in the tabloids. Then, we have to get baby clothes. And you need another job besides racing," Keira said, rambling._

_Due to the now warring halves of him over the idea of being a father, Jak passed out._

* * *

_Back to the present…_

The doctor continued telling Jak that Keira had slipped into a coma, she wasn't waking up anytime soon and that he should gather any of her family to her side. "Does she have any other relatives? Sir?" the doctor said to him.

"Huh?" Jak said.

"I guess you weren't paying attention. Keira Haggai-Mar has fallen into a coma and she's not waking up anytime soon. I suggest that you take into consideration that you'll be a single father," the doctor said.

That angered Jak and he said, "You really need to work on your bedside manners."

"But you must face the reality that you will most likely be a single father. Your wife and mother of your children have had a stroke that made her fall into a coma. She will most likely not wake up. So, we need you to call any of her living relatives so they can say their goodbyes," the doctor told him, still not checking his manners.

Jak glared at him and the doctor saw a small spark of dark eco come out of his hands. "Sir, I suggest that you go in and say your final goodbyes," the doctor said.

Jak calmed down a bit and walked past the doctor. Entering Keira's room, he saw that she was unconscious and connected to machines.

'_Maybe you should channel some light eco into her,'_ his light half said.

'You think it'll work?' Jak thought.

'_Most likely,'_ the light told him.

'_**And if it doesn't?'**_ the dark asked, none too happy.

'_Then…Well, that wouldn't be good,'_ the light said.

Jak pondered for a moment and grabbed Keira's hand. He immediately started channeling some light eco into her. Within moments, Keira woke up and looked at Jak.

The doctors, as if being paged on what happened in that room, rushed in and saw that Keira was awake. 'Huh? I guess he's useful for something…' the rude doctor thought.

* * *

_Ten months later, Haven City's New Center district…_

The twins, named Katara (after Keira's mother) and Jaquilin (named after Jak), looked out of the window to see their father outside, looking at a wumpbee nest.

The girls, who favored their mother mostly, stared at him and saw that he was holding ice cream in his hands. Since they were on the couch with Keira, the two couldn't attempt to crawl any further.

In baby speech, Katara told Jaquilin, "What's Daddy doing?"

"I dunno. He looks funny," Jaquilin.

Outside, Jak looked at the wumpbee nest. He saw that a wumpbee left the nest and stared making a beeline to his face. Since Jak had apiphobia (or the fear of bees), that bee making a line for his face wasn't good.

He backed towards the house and said, "F…Oh crap. Crap. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please."

His darker half, not liking the bee, caused for a bolt of dark eco to come out of the hero. It missed the bee by an inch and hit the beehive. The wumpbees left the nest and started chasing said hero.

In the highest tone he could ever achieve, Jak screamed, "AAH! No! No! Ni…No!"

Inside, the twins saw that their father was being chased by bees. In baby talk, Jaquilin said, "Is Dad a scaredy cat?"

"I dunno," Katara said.

The two then saw that Jak did something that was considered silly to the average Havenite. He threw the ice cream at the wumpbees, hoping to appease them.

"Take the ice cream! Take the freakin' ice cream! Not me! Take the ice cream!" Jak screamed and cursed.

Much to his surprise, the bees were distracted by it and he rushed into the house. Keira, trying everything not to laugh, said, "Um…where's the ice cream?"

She then laughed and Jak glared at her. "Well, you know you're gonna have to go back out. I'm still craving ice cream," Keira said.

'_**Sucks to be you,**_' the dark half said.

'_Um, you know we're all the same person, right?'_ the light half told him.

'_**Quiet,**_' the dark half said.

Jak, after seeing that the coast was clear, left. When he was gone, Keira burst into a fit of laughter.

The twins stared at her and she said, "Your dad's extremely afraid of wumpbees. Just don't make fun of him too much.'

"What did she say?" Katara said in babbles.

"I dunno," Jaquilin said.

Sadly, the poor hero was chased by another group of wumpbees that smelled the newly bought ice cream.

* * *

_Eh. Shorter than my usual first chapters. Okay, a few introductions, but there'll be more intros in the next chapter. So, review and tell me what you think. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Oh, and I forgot to mention that I made it at least five years between Jak X and Lost Frontier. So, that'll give the kids time to grow up and see their parents adventure a bit._

_-miano53_

* * *

"_Children rapidly learn things, especially from their parents. So, you must be extremely careful in what you say around them."_

_-a childcare taker in South Haven City_

Chapter Two: Choice Words

_The Mar Household, Haven City, four months later…_

Jaquilin and Katara, now 14 months old and walking, began walking around the house, exploring what they could under the watchful eye of Samos the Sage (aka "Grandpa"). Samos had blocked off the path of the kitchen, basement, pantry, second floor, and Jak and Keira's room.

Since all the good places were blocked off, Jaquilin and Katara went into the nursery, where their little brothers slept. The second set of twins, four month old Damas and Jak, Jr., slept in their crib and Katara had an idea.

She wanted to wake them up, thus distracting Samos and getting into the kitchen. "No!" Jaquilin yelled.

Katara pulled her arm and the older twin yelled, "NO!"

That woke up the boys. Samos walked in and said, "Katara! What are you doing?"

He saw the glint of mischief in her eyes and said, "No. You two need a nap."

"NO!" the girls yelled.

"Yes!" Samos said.

"No!" Katara yelled.

"Nonononono," Jaquilin said, as if wondering why she was being punished.

"Come here," Samos said, motioning for them to come.

Instead of them following orders, the two ran. Severely annoyed by the crying of the boys and the girls not obeying him Samos said, "I'm getting too old for this. Why can't they just get a nanny?"

With the girls, the two headed for the door and saw that the door didn't open. Jaquilin pulled at the door as she always saw her parents pull at the door to open it. "Fie!" she yelled.

"Me! Me!" Katara said and began pulling at the doorknob. The door still didn't open.

"Out!" Jaquilin yelled.

The door opened and the twins were about to bolt when they saw that Jak had opened it. "What the…?" he said.

"Dad!" Katara yelled, hiding behind him.

Samos came into the living room and yelled, "I quit!"

"But you can't quit," Jak said.

"Yes I can! Your children are demons! Especially Katara!" Samos yelled.

"She's not that bad," Jak said.

"Within the five hours you were gone, the girls managed to flood the bathroom, set fire to parts of the kitchen, put gum in my hair and woke up the boys! WHEN DID THEY LEARN TO CHEW GUM?" Samos yelled.

"They're just curious, Samos," Jak said, surprisingly calm. The reason why he was so calm was that his darker half was laughing uproariously.

"Curious? Well, you didn't behave like…Oh no…" Samos said, remembering something.

"What?" Jak said.

"You used to…Nevermind," Samos said.

The twins were about to head outside when Jak grabbed the two. The girls protested, hoping that he would let them stay awake. That wish was denied.

* * *

_An hour later…_

Jak and Samos, exhausted after practically fighting two sets of twins and making them take a nap, sat on the couch and the older man said, "Do you know anything of the odd storms that have been happening in the western oceans?"

"No. We're still lookin' into that," Jak said, still very tired.

The front door opened and the two saw that Keira had come in. She was followed by Daxter, Tess and their kid of one year, three months. "Hey, how were the kids," Keira asked.

"Terrible," Samos said.

"It couldn't have been that bad," Keira said.

Samos and Jak glared at her and Daxter began talking. "Well, at least you got it easy. My kid keeps throwin' stuff at me!" he yelled.

"David's not that bad," Tess said.

"Not that bad? Did you see what he did last night with the diaper change?" Daxter yelled.

The conversation dragged on and several choice words were used. Unknowingly to the parents, the twin girls heard every choice word said. So, the two began to use them.

"Hee! Hee! Hee! S…!" Katara yelled.

Jak heard it and got up. When he saw the twins using the words Daxter said, he muttered, "Oh great…"

"Daddy! S…!" Jaquilin yelled.

Keira glared at Daxter and he said, "What? I was just talking!"

"Figures you'd be the one that does this," Samos said.

"What? What did I say?" Daxter yelled.

Jak sighed and the twins kept cursing. He immediately had them stop and told them that they couldn't say it.

"No!" Katara yelled.

"No!" Jaquilin said.

Jak glared at Daxter and Daxter yelled, "What? I just talked like I usually do!"

"I did tell you that you have to be careful with what you say around kids," Tess said.

After ten minutes of debating with the twins, Jak managed to stop them from cursing…at the age of one. Sadly, David started with the cursing when he got home.

* * *

_Short once again, but hopefully it'll get longer with other chapters._

_-miano53_


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to KHLegacy, Foreteller of Three and anyone else that read the story so far. Let's see what other shenanigans I can put the Mar family through…_

_-miano53_

* * *

"_Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can occur at anytime. The sad thing is that it can take a while for the mental trauma to be fully healed. Soldiers mostly get it, but…"_

_-a psychiatrist in the New Palace District_

Chapter Three: Inheritance

_Six months later, the Mar household…_

Jaquilin and Katara, now 20 months, and Damas and Jak Jr. (now ten months) sat on the couch with Jak as he was watching TV. He was watching Combat Racing and the two sets of mirror-opposite twins only knew that fast was good.

Katara headed up to the TV and pointed at the cars. "Fast car!" she yelled happily.

"Yeah, that's a fast car," Jak said, not sounding the least bit interested.

"Drive?" Jaquilin asked.

Jak nodded sleepily and Damas and Junior stared at him. When he fell asleep (which was odd as it was 1:00 in the afternoon), the twins joined the girls on the floor and started trouble.

Damas found a toy car he could play with and immediately started babbling. Junior walked over and looked at the car. He grabbed the car and the two started fighting.

Instead of stopping them, Jaquilin and Katara sat down and watched the fight. "Junior's mean," Jaquilin said, looking at the boys fight.

Katara stared, wondering if the toy car will come to her. The boys kept fighting until Jak heard them yelling in his sleep. He bolted awake and saw the boys hitting each other.

"Hey. Hey!" he yelled.

The boys still fought and Jak got up and pulled the two apart. "Neither of you can have the car," he said.

Katara immediately thought, 'Yay!'

The boys began crying and were put into their crib. When their dad left, Jaquilin and Katara descended onto the car like vultures to a carcass.

Jaquilin grabbed the car first and Katara pouted. "I want car!" she yelled.

"Mine!" Jaquilin yelled, clutching the car.

Katara grabbed the car and the two started fighting over the car. "Car mine!" Katara yelled.

"Mine!" Jaquilin yelled.

"Mine!" Katara yelled, getting louder.

"Mine!" Jaquilin yelled, also getting louder.

"MINE!" Katara screamed, hitting her sister in the head.

Instead of crying, Jaquilin fell back and quickly recovered. She lunged at her sister and the car and grabbed it. The two continued to fight.

In the kids' room, Jak heard the girls fighting. Unreasonably tired, he headed outside and into the living room. What he saw scared him.

The faint glow of Light and Dark Eco came from the fighting twins. The soft glow of Light Eco came from Jaquilin. The harsh glow of Dark Eco came from Katara. Within seconds, a bolt of Dark Eco shot out of Katara and hit Jak.

That stopped the twins fighting. "Uh oh…" the girls said.

'_Did she just…?'_ the light half of Jak asked.

'_**Yes. She did,'**_ the dark half said, not feeling too happy about getting shot.

'How did they…?' Jak thought.

'_Well, Keira and you both can use eco. So, it would be natural that the two exhibit such powers,_' the light told him.

Jak got up from off the floor and the twins stared at him, wondering if he was okay. Katara gave him the now broken car and Jak immediately said, "Don't fight each other, okay?"

"Daddy 'kay?" Jaquilin asked.

Jak nodded and the two immediately started playing with themselves. Still unknowingly tired, the hero sat on the couch, watching the two play.

* * *

_Later…_

Keira came home to see that Jak was on the couch, asleep with the twins at his sides. The girls were also asleep and she could hear the babbling of the boys in their room.

"Aw, they look so cute while their sleeping," Keira said.

The three stirred, but didn't wake up. Keira was about to take a picture when she remembered what happened the last time she did that. It involved the dark side of Jak, a lot of cursing, a broken camera and some broken furniture.

"Eh, never mind," she said and headed into the kids' room. There, Keira saw her little boys and they were playing. What made it odd was that she had seen a faint glow of eco coming from them.

"Huh," she said, not surprised.

Damas and Junior looked at her and started hopping up and down in the crib. "Why didn't your dad get you out of the crib? And why…?" Keira said, noticing that both had wet diapers.

"Why didn't he change you?" she sighed.

Within seconds, Keira marched into the living room and yelled, "Jak! Jak! JAK!"

Jak woke up, as well as the girls, and saw a fuming Keira. "What?" he asked.

"Why didn't you change them?" Keira asked.

"I changed them at two," Jak said.

"Do you know what time it is? It's 9:00 p.m.!" Keira yelled.

Jak looked at the clock and couldn't believe that he slept that long. "Why did you sleep that long?" Keira asked.

"I don't know," Jak said, still looking tired.

"Well, anyway, I'll change the boys. Just make sure that you don't sleep that long," Keira said, heading back to the kids' room.

'_Something's wrong. You've never slept like this,_' the light half said.

'_**Way to go, Captain Obvious. What else don't we know? That the sky's blue?**_' the dark half said.

Noticing that Jak didn't do anything for five minutes, Jaquilin poked him and said, "Daddy 'kay?"

Jak nodded, still tired, and Katara yelled, "Daddy not fine! What wrong?"

"Just need some sleep," Jak said and headed to his room.

The girls looked at each other and started to get worried.

* * *

_That night…_

For some reason, Jak was tired, but he couldn't get to sleep. The reason why was that his two halves were chatting away on what had happened on today. He looked over at Keira and saw that she was sleeping peacefully.

'Lucky,' he thought.

'_Who's lucky?_' his light half asked.

'_**Keira, you dolt!**_' the dark yelled.

'_Well, I didn't see. I was talking to you!_' the light said to the dark.

'Okay! Light…Dark, please stop yelling. You're giving me a headache,' Jak thought, hoping to appease them and hopefully get some sleep.

'_**Yeah, yeah, yeah. You just need to learn how to deal with it,**_' the dark yelled.

'_You know, if he gets a headache, we both get it too,_' the light said as calmly as he could.

Just before the dark could reply, crying was heard. "Jak, get it…It's your turn," Keira said in her sleep.

'_**Lazy…**_' the dark said, receiving a glare from the light half.

Jak got up and headed into the kids' room. There, he saw sparks of Dark Eco coming out of Katara. Katara saw him and lunged at him. "DAAAADDDY!" she screamed, knocking him out of the room.

He looked at her and saw that her skin was unnaturally pale. Her nails had turned to black claws and her hair turned white. Her small teeth also had turned into fangs. Her eyes had turned black and she was crying.

"Daddy! Too much! No sleep!" she yelled, crying the whole time.

'Should I tell her?' Jak thought.

'_If Keira wakes up and sees her like this…'_ the light said.

'_**Then we're screwed,**_' the dark said.

Jak didn't notice that Katara was talking when she yelled, "Looky!"

"Huh?" Jak said.

Katara started crying and hugging him. When she did, she nearly squeezed her father to death. "Can't breathe," Jak muttered, gasping for breath.

Katara stopped and looked at him. After getting some air in Jak began to calm her down. Within moments, the Dark Eco had left Katara and was absorbed by Jak. That changed her back to her normal appearance and Jak's fatigue lessened.

'_Huh,'_ the light said.

'_**What?**_' the dark asked.

'_The kids kept absorbing the eco, that's why he was so tired,'_ the light explained.

The two halves began arguing on what really happened and Jak started getting a headache. Katara saw this and said, "Daddy heard noise?"

Jak didn't know what to say and simply nodded. "Oh…Daddy got voices too?" Katara asked.

That shocked him. "Um…" Jak said.

Before he could answer her, Katara fell asleep.

'_You know you can't hide it forever. You're going to have to tell them,' _the light said.

'I don't think they'll understand,' Jak thought.

'_**Then don't tell 'em,**_' the dark said.

'_But he has to. Sooner or later, they'll find out,_' the light said.

Instead of listening to them, Jak went into the kids' room and put Katara to bed.

* * *

_The next day…_

After putting the kids down for a nap (since he had the day off), Jak went to sleep on the couch and took a nap. As he did, he started to have a nightmare.

That woke up Jaquilin. She got up and climbed out of the crib. The little toddler headed into the living room and saw sparks of Dark Eco leaving her father's body.

Worried, Jaquilin nudged him to see if he would wake up. Jak didn't. So, she poked him again.

That woke up Jak, who was having a nightmare about the experiments that were performed on him. The dream stopped with him turning Dark and killing the scientists that experimented on him.

That in turn, had Jak lose control of himself and he went Dark. He attacked and accidentally did something that horrified him. He stabbed Jaquilin with his claws.

He turned back to normal and said, "Oh my god."

Jaquilin had a blank stare on her face and looked as if she was about to pass out. Jak was about to heal her with Light Eco when she touched him. She started to absorb his eco within seconds and Jak began feeling weak. Within seconds, Jaquilin was fully healed and Jak passed out.

"Uh oh…" Jaquilin said.

'_Call for Grandpa!'_ someone, or something, said.

Jaquilin rushed for Samos's room (on the second floor) and pulled him off the recliner. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She pulled him to the living room where he saw that Jak was on the ground, unconscious. Samos immediately started channeling Green Eco into the man. To his horror, it didn't work well. So, some calls were made and Jak was transferred to a military hospital.

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

Jak woke up to find himself in a hospital bed. He looked around and saw that Governess Ashelin Praxis-Acheron stood next to him. Her husband, Torn Acheron sat in a chair near a window and said, "Finished with your nap?"

"What happened?" Jak asked.

"You passed out after Jaquilin siphoned your eco," Ashelin replied.

Jak bolted up and immediately regretted that decision. He fell back down on the bed and said, "Is Jaquilin okay?"

"Well, she did take on a few of your…'charming' personality traits. But we lived through it," Torn replied.

"They're on their way here, so you'll see for yourself," Ashelin told him.

The hero smiled inwardly and was relieved when he saw that Jaquilin was okay.


	4. Chapter 4

"_The Mar Family was one of the most powerful ruling families in the world. Until they were betrayed by Baron Praxis twelve years ago. Now, they serve in Haven City as members of the military council to Governess Acheron. But, there are still some that are not too happy about the Mar's still here."_

_-the Precurian Encyclopedia MXXIV_

Chapter Four: Kidnapped

_Four months later…_

Keira, who took the twins out for a "girls day out", sat in the drawing room of the New Palace and saw the twins play with Ashelin and Torn's three year old son, Rip (aka, Richard Acheron). Ashelin sat at her desk and said to Keira, "How's Jak been since the accident?"

"He's fine. We're just wondering when we're going to tell the girls about their…'gifts'," Keira said, on much better terms with the governess since her marriage to Torn.

"You're going to have to tell them sooner or later. We had to tell Rip about the tattoos because he started asking questions," Ashelin said.

"Well, that's not as bad as what Jak gave them," Keira said.

Ashelin thought about it and said, "You're right about that."

The twins immediately started playing with a ball and Rip yelled, "Pass the ball!"

"No," Katara said.

"Give it!" Rip yelled.

"NO!" Katara yelled.

Rip grabbed the ball and yelled, "Give! You gotta share!"

"NO!" Katara screamed.

Keira saw sparks of Dark Eco leave her body and she yelled, "Hey! Stop that!"

Katara looked at her and the Dark Eco immediately disappeared. Keira sighed and said, "Well, we're gonna go now."

"No!" Jaquilin and Katara yelled.

Keira glared at the two and the girls were quiet. After putting them in their stroller, Keira left the palace and drove home.

As she did, she didn't know that she was being followed…

* * *

_The Naughty Ottsel, Haven Port…_

Daxter and Tess, who were in the middle of the dinner rush, began pouring drinks for those at the bar when the two saw Jak enter. He looked a bit tired and the ottsel gave his friend the usual.

"What's wrong?" Daxter asked.

"Keira hasn't answered her phone all day. She usually does," Jak said.

"Don't worry. She's fine," Tess said.

"Yeah, she'll call," Daxter said.

Another hour passed and there was no call. Jak called her again and there was no answer. He sent a text and that received no reply.

'_Odd. Keira never does this,_' the light said.

'Something's wrong,' Jak thought.

'_**Just wait. She'll answer**_,' the dark said, sounding reasonable.

'You're sounding reasonable today,' Jak thought.

Dark went silent, meaning that he was quite angry.

Two more hours passed and the Naughty Ottsel closed for the night. "Should we call the guard?" Tess asked.

Daxter was about to say something when the three saw Keira enter the Naughty Ottsel. She looked dazed and what made her appearance worse was that the girls weren't with her. Jak got up and said, "Are you okay?"

Keira looked at him and said, "They…They…"

"What? What?" Daxter yelled.

"The girls…they've been…" Keira said.

Jak knew. He left the bar and Tess asked, "What happened?"

"The girls are…They've been kidnapped…I…They…" Keira said.

"Call the others," Tess told Daxter. He did and told the others to meet at the Mar's household (as Keira wanted to go back home).

Later, after Torn and Ashelin arrived at the Mar's home, the group wondered who would take the girls. Since Jak was out looking for them, they couldn't get any other opinions. So, Ashelin told Keira, "If you were attacked the instant you left the palace, we need to know where you went and what happened."

Keira looked at her with a dazed expression and said nothing. "Keira, if you remember anything, you gotta tell us," Torn said.

Keira still said nothing, as if traumatized. "Keira, my dear, you must tell us what happened," Samos told her.

She looked at him and said, "They were wearing all black, like cloaks. I couldn't see their faces…They…took the girls."

"Well, that's not helpful," Daxter said.

"We'll use every resource that we can. We'll let you know when we have more info. Until then, you'll be under surveillance," Ashelin said.

Just before she could say anything else, Jak came in and slumped on the couch. "Couldn't find anything," he said.

"And their eco energy is faint," Samos said.

"We'll find 'em. The Guard's already looking for them now," Torn said.

Ashelin and he left, heading back home to tell the Coucil what happened. "We'll stay with you guys and help you out," Tess said.

Jak (not liking the idea of sitting still when his daughters were in trouble got up) and started to leave when Daxter stopped him. Seeing a slight purple glow in his friend's eyes, Daxter immediately said, "I'll go with ya."

The two left and began looking around the city for clues.

* * *

_In an unknown location…_

Jaquilin and Katara looked around and saw that they were not with their mommy. "Mommy!" Jaquilin cried.

Katara looked around and saw that the place looked weird. Metal was everywhere and boxes were strewn about the place. Sand was on the floor and it wasn't the sandbox sand. "Mommy! Daddy!" Katara yelled.

They didn't come and the two started crying. "Quiet in there!" someone yelled.

The two didn't and the man, a marauder, kicked Katara. The girl immediately started screaming and Jaquilin yelled, "Stop! Meanie!"

She then touched Katara and healed her. "Don't hurt them! We need them alive," someone else said.

"Yes. Yes sir," the marauder said, bowing.

The man, who didn't look familiar to the girls, looked at them in their cage and said, "The Mar family is a stain on history's weave. The family shall fall. This time for good."

The girls stared at him and said nothing. Until Jaquilin said, "I want my daddy."

"You'll see him. Soon enough," the man said.

* * *

_Back in Haven City…_

Ashelin and Torn sat in the conference room of the palace and began looking through their computers for any information on the people Keira described. They looked through the profiles of thousands of people and was about to give up when the two saw the council enter the room. Following behind them was Keira, Samos, and Tess.

"Jak couldn't find them?" Torn asked.

Keira shook her head and sat down. "Don't worry. We're using every resource we can to find the girls," one of the judges, a brown haired woman named Judge Eliza Magrace, told her.

"How? There's no clues," Keira said.

Samos was about to say something when the voice of Vin filled the room. "Um, madam governor, I found something that I think will be helpful in finding the kids," Vin, now a computer, said.

"Show it," Ashelin ordered.

Vin showed the images of what looked like marauders in black cloaks and the leader was a man named Sol Malo. Judge Magrace recognized him and said, "He was supposed to be executed. Why is he alive…and working with marauders?"

"What did he do that was so bad?" Tess asked.

"Well, he kidnapped, tortured, killed, and maimed at least 76 people, mostly political rivals of the old Baron. After Ashelin took over and reinstated the Judges, he was arrested," Torn explained.

"Then why would he want to kidnap the twins?" Tess said.

"Well, Jak does have a considerable amount of influence here, especially after he helped save the world twice," Judge Magrace said.

"Three times," Keira said.

"Three?" Tess said.

Keira didn't look as if she was going to explain and there was a call. Ashelin answered and Sig was on the line.

"Jak's here. Did you all find anything on the twins?" Sig asked.

"Yes. Do you know of a man named Sol Malo?" Ashelin asked.

There was silence over the phone and Sig said, "Him? How did he even get back in the city?"

"I don't know, but we need to know where he is. If you find him, you'll most likely find the…" Ashelin said.

She stopped speaking when Vin said, "Ma'am, a video just came in. It's for Jak."

Ashelin put the phone on speaker and so did Sig. On the video was the girls tied up to chairs and blindfolded. There were marauders behind them, holding guns at them.

The leader, with his voice distorted, said, "Coucil of Haven City, we have something that you want. When two entities want something the other has, a deal can always be struck. I have what you want. And I know that you have what I want."

The room was tense and the leader said, "I want 12 million precursor orbs for each child. I want it delivered at the oasis in the Wasteland by midnight tonight. And both parents are to come alone. If you do not follow this, these children will die."

The video immediately shut off and Vin said, "I'm sorry. I couldn't get the location on where the video was recorded."

"I'll go to Spargus and meet up with Jak there," Keira said.

"No, it could be a trap," Ashelin said.

"She has no choice," Jak said over the phone.

"Then we'll see to it that you get the money by tonight. Sig, meet up with Keira and take her to the location," Ashelin said.

With that Keira was given the money to set the girls free and hoped that they were still alive.

* * *

_Spargus City, 8:00 p.m…_

Jak waited for Keira to arrive when Daxter said, "They're not gonna hurt them. If I was a kidnapper and I needed money, I wouldn't hurt them."

That didn't help at all and Jak became quite angry. Daxter sensed the change in his friend and said, "Whatever you plan to do, just make sure that the girls don't get hurt."

Jak headed for the garage and Daxter yelled, "Jak! Wait up!"

An hour later, Keira arrived at the palace and Sig said, "You got the money?"

Keira nodded and said, "Where's Jak?"

"No idea. He must've went on ahead," Sig said.

Keira received a call on her cell phone and answered it. "Jak? Where are you?" Keira asked.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'll get the girls back, by any means necessary," Jak said over the phone.

Within seconds, he hung up and Keira knew something was wrong. "What did he say?" Sig asked.

"He's going to get the girls…but there's something wrong. He didn't sound like…himself. It's just like…Oh no," Keira said.

She immediately called Ashelin and told her, "Ashelin…Jak's gone to find the girls on his own."

"Oh no…" Ashelin said, not liking that Jak didn't follow the plan.

"If Jak calls you…anytime soon…Be very careful on how you talk to him…" Keira said.

"What do you mean?" Ashelin asked.

Torn and Samos knew exactly what she meant. "It means that if he calls us, he'll most likely want an order that involves killing," Torn said, remembering a mission where the dark half of Jak nearly took over.

"And he'll only recognize strength. Don't wavier in your decision and don't take too long," Samos said.

Ashelin slumped in her chair and said, "What are you asking me to do?"

"I'm telling you not to do show any weakness if he calls you…Please don't. If he…if he senses it, he'll most likely do something that he'll regret later," Keira said.

"Alright, I won't," Ashelin said.

Keira hung up and immediately started remembering what happened before. Sig saw and asked, "What happened?"

"Jak…I saw it. He…I came home and the kids were asleep. I headed into the kitchen when I felt something holding my waist. I thought it was an intruder as Jak wasn't supposed to be home yet. So, I swung at him and saw Jak, but….he wasn't himself," Keira said.

"He went Dark, right?" Sig asked.

"How did you…?" Keira asked him.

"I've seen it a couple of times during missions. He gets pretty sadistic and psychotic when he's like that," Sig said.

"Well, he said something that I knew Jak wouldn't say normally. So, I stood my ground. When I did, he laughed and told me that he liked me like that. I didn't know what he meant, but I figured that if I stay strong when he's like that, he wouldn't do anything…stupid," Keira explained.

"If Daxter's with him, hopefully it won't come to that," Sig said.

* * *

_At the Marauder's Hideout, Wasteland…_

Jak, with his morph gun at the ready, looked around with the scope on the gun. He managed to snipe several guards with the gun and, when he thought the coast was clear, he descended onto the hideout. As he quietly moved towards the back door, Daxter said, "Why didn't we wait for Keira?"

"Shh!" Jak said.

"But, why didn't we wait?" Daxter asked, voice quieter.

"'Cause this is faster," Jak said.

Daxter heard someone come up from behind them and said, "Jak!"

Jak turned around to see that he had missed a marauder guard. The guard hit him in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. Daxter backed started running as the guard started shooting at him. The poor ottsel was trapped by the guard when he saw dark energy come from Jak's direction.

'Oh crap…' Daxter thought.

The marauder turned around and saw that Jak had changed. Daxter knew exactly what happened and said, "Dark's out…"

Jak, now fully controlled by his dark side, got up and the marauder immediately thought, 'OKAY! HE'S A MONSTER! Oh precursors, look at his face. I'm so dead! I'M SO DEAD!'

Dark, with a face of sadistic glee, slashed at the marauder with his claws and killed him within seconds. Hearing the death wail of the marauder, a few more marauder guards came and surrounded him. Dark quickly took them out, scaring Daxter (and we all know that Daxter should be used to that…right?).

Once Dark had killed the last marauder, Daxter stared at him, quite scared as Dark had managed to rip apart his victims. "Um…a-are you…going to…?" Daxter asked.

What scared him more was that Dark had sat down and pulled out Jak's cell phone. 'Why is he making a call? Oh crap…' Daxter thought.

Instead of waiting for his now dark eco controlled friend, Daxter bolted off, hoping to find the girls before they were killed or worse. Dark paid him no mind, retracted his claws and called someone…

* * *

_Haven Palace, 11:00 p.m…_

Keira had came back to the city with Sig since there was nothing else to do but wait for Jak and Daxter to return. "What if they don't come back with the girls? What am I to do?" Keira asked, worried.

"Don't worry. He'll come back with them," Sig said to reassure her. It didn't work well.

"Knowing Sol, he's probably got those girls starving. That was one of his favorite tactics during the war," Torn said.

The room became silent when there was a call. 'Odd,' Ashelin thought.

"Who is it?" she said, putting the phone on speaker.

"Jak's gone crazy. Just do me a favor and don't say anything that you'll regret," Daxter yelled over the phone.

There was another call on the other line and Ashelin answered. "Who is this?" she asked.

"_**You know who it is. Now give me orders**__**,**_" Dark said over the phone.

'It gained more of Jak's intelligence. This isn't good,' Samos thought.

The whole room was silent. "What…did you do…?" Ashelin asked.

"_**To those pathetic marauders? I killed them**_," Dark said as if what he did was…normal.

Ashelin was about to gasp when she caught herself. "**_It was easy_**_**. They just threw themselves at me and I took them out one by one. All I need now are orders to storm the place**_," Dark said.

The governess remained silent as Dark began asking for orders. She said nothing as he spoke until he said, "_**I'm waiting for orders, Ashelin. Don't keep me waiting.**_"

Ashelin sat down and looked over to Judge Magrace. She nodded and the room stayed silent. She drunk a bit of liquor from her cup and immediately slammed it down on the table.

"Don't rush me! Your orders to search and destroy! Search and destroy! Kill Sol Malo and anyone who resists his execution! And bring those girls home without a scratch! Do you understand?" Ashelin yelled.

Dark laughed said, "_**This is excellent. That's why I like you, Ashelin. Cold-hearted and ruthless.**_"

The phone hung up with a click and Ashelin began gasping for air. "Was that?" she said.

"The dark side of him? Yep. Sadistic, isn't he?" Torn said.

"I thought he couldn't speak in that form…" Tess said, scared.

"He learned. It learned when Jak learned to control it…somewhat," Keira said, remembering what Jak told her.

"If he manages to find the girls, what then?" Judge Magrace said.

"He'll follow orders. He's a weapon," Torn said.

Keira walked away from the table and looked out the window. 'Dark…if you hurt them…you'll regret it,' she thought.

* * *

_Sol Malo's hideout, 11:45 p.m…_

Sol, a red haired man with green eyes, looked at the girls and said, "Your parents only have fifteen minutes…"

"I want daddy! I want mommy!" Jaquilin said, crying.

"I'm hungry!" Katara cried.

"You two won't have to worry about that soon enough," Sol said. He then left, leaving the girls with four marauder guards.

Daxter, who was hiding near the ceiling, saw that he would have to make a distraction. 'Hopefully Dark won't come and kill the girls…or me,' he thought.

He saw a power switch he could pull the wires out of and did just that. The lights went out and he heard some terrified screams coming from the hallway. Those screamed turned into death wails and Daxter knew that Dark was close.

When the guards saw that the lights went out, they stayed at their posts with guns at the ready. 'Man, these guys are smarter than I thought,' Daxter thought.

Moments later, Dark had kicked down the door and the guards started shooting at where they thought he was. Since one of his other abilities in that form was excellent night vision, Dark could see exactly where they were. With maniacal cackles and growls, Dark lunged at the guards and began tearing them limb from limb.

As that was happening, Daxter opened up the twins' cage and helped them out. "Psst, follow me," he said.

He quickly led the girls out of the room and towards the front door (as all the guards were killed by Dark). There, the three could see a group standing at the door.

"Escaping wasn't an option, dearies," Sol said, turning on the lights that weren't affected by Daxter's antics.

A bolt of Dark Eco hit several of the guards and scared the girls. "_**Just marauders? I thought someone like you would provide more of a challenge**_," Dark said, sitting on some metal crates.

The marauders that were left started shooting at him and he lunged into the fray. Daxter, knowing the girls shouldn't see the massacre, led them to a hiding place behind some boxes. "Close your eyes and cover your ears," he said.

The twins did and Daxter saw that Dark was having a time destroying whoever got in his way. The marauders kept charging at him, but they were met with claws and dark energy. After several moments of hearing death wails, Daxter saw that Sol was alone and Dark looked pleased with what he did.

"Well, I guess you are smarter than you look," Sol said to Dark.

Dark lunged at him and something unexpected happened. Sol pulled out a gun and shot at him. The shot was filled with Light Eco. When it hit, Dark was sent flying back and the Light Eco behaved like electricity.

Daxter saw that Sol escaped and the twins walked over to Dark. Katara, as if knowing what happened, said nothing.

Jaquilin, however, looked at him with confusion. "Unca Dax, this Daddy?"

"Um…well…" Daxter said.

Instead of answering the question, he led the girls out of the room, making sure they didn't see the dead marauders. Once outside, Katara asked, "Daddy okay?"

"Um…I hope so…" Daxter said.

"Daddy look different," Jaquilin said.

'Oh no…' Daxter said, knowing the girls started to understand.

"He had BIG claws!" Katara yelled.

"Well, we need to get you two out of here. And with Jak out of it…" Daxter said.

"Dax…" Jak said.

Daxter turned around and saw that Jak was back to normal. "DADDY!" the twins yelled.

The two hopped on him and didn't see that he groaned when they leaped on him. "What happened?" Jak asked.

"Well, you managed to…" Daxter said.

"Figures…" he said, not liking that his dark side took over his body.

"Daddy, why you get long nails?" Jaquilin asked.

Jak immediately thought, 'Oh crud.'

"Daddy, I'm hungry," Katara said.

"Me too," Jaquilin said, forgetting the question.

Jak, tired, pressed the button on his beacon and waited for someone from Haven to pick them up. After twenty minutes, Torn arrived with a Hellcat Cruiser and lifted them to the safety of Haven.

* * *

_An unknown location…_

Sol, who escaped with an airship, landed in what looked like barracks. "Sir, I couldn't bring them here. But the female Mar twins have their father's abilities just like you said," he said to someone.

"And of Jak?" the man Sol spoke with said.

"His two halves have a notable sentience. His dark half, however, has a much stronger presence than that of the light half," Sol said.

"Well, this'll be interesting. Here's your reward," the man said.

Sol thought he was going to receive monetary funds. Instead, he was greeted with a hail of bullets. He was hit by it and collapsed to the ground.

Before he died, Sol said, "Skyheed…Why? I helped you."

"You failed in your mission. You were to capture them and bring them here. But, you failed at that," Skyheed, Duke of the aerial island nation of Aeropa, said.

"Sir, your ship's ready," an Aeropan soldier said.

"Good. Let's go," Skyheed said and left.

* * *

_Huh. So, Sol was working for Skyheed. But why kidnap the girls? Oh and thanks to JakMartheDarkWarrior for their review._

_-miano53_


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks to evilanimegenious and KHLegacy for their reviews. Now that the girls are safe at home, what else can happen? Oh crud. I forgot to put this in. I don't own nada! And one last thing. Junior and Damas III look more like Young Jak from Jak II. The girls look more like a kid Keira, mixed in with a little Jak._

_-miano53_

* * *

"_Children grow up so fast. If you don't spend much time with them, they'll experience things without you. That's what my mama told me and I do the same with my kids."_

_-Sig Hotan, King of Spargus_

Chapter Five: Dark and Light Antics

_Two days later, the Mar household…_

Keira, who stayed home due to orders from Ashelin, sat in her room and watched the two sets of twins watch a learning show. Jak, however, wanted to be alone for a while and stayed in his "man cave" in the basement. As the five watched TV, Keira could've sworn she heard a crashing sound in the basement.

"What dat?" Katara asked.

"Nothing," Keira said, lying as she knew what was going on.

Junior walked over to the TV and stood in front of it. "Junior, move!" Jaquilin yelled.

Junior stared at her and looked at the TV screen. He then did something that was very…15 year old Jak-like. He shook his butt in front of her, as if saying, "Nah-nah!"

"Meanie!" Jaquilin yelled.

"Junior, come here," Keira said.

Junior looked at her and walked over to the bed. Keira picked him up and said, "Don't stand in front of the TV. Everyone has to see."

Junior attempted the puppy eyes look and failed as Keira didn't look. He then started to mope.

Keira heard more crashing sounds in the basement and she looked worried. 'Jak…' she thought.

"What's that 'crash' sound?" Katara asked.

"It loud," Jaquilin said.

Damas and Junior sat on the bed, not paying the sound any attention as they didn't know where it came from. "It's nothing. Your dad's just fixing something in the basement," Keira said, lying again.

"I wanna see!" Jaquilin said, getting off the bed.

"NO! I mean…no. He'll come up soon," Keira said.

The kids looked at her and wondered why did she yell. Within seconds, since their favorite show was on, they forgot about it.

* * *

_That night…_

Keira went into the kitchen to get a drink of water and immediately went back into her room. She was a bit lonely as Jak didn't come up from his man cave. More crashing sounds were heard and she started to get worried.

'Jak…H-he'll be fine,' she thought.

Within moments, she attempted to go to sleep. It wasn't successful.

In the children's room, Jaquilin and Katara, noisy and wondering why there were crashing sounds coming from the basement, climbed out of their crib and headed outside. Once outside, the two headed into the kitchen and saw that the door to the basement was locked. "Daddy!" Jaquilin said.

"Daddy!" Katara said, knocking on the basement door.

"_**What are you two doing awake?**_" someone asked.

Katara turned around and Jaquilin did the same. The two looked and could barely see who it was. After seeing a dark energy bolt, Katara screamed.

"AAH!" she screamed, running off.

Jaquilin did the same and the twins headed for their parents' room. Jaquilin dove onto the bed with Keira and Katara dove under the bed. "What's wrong?" Keira asked.

"It's the boogeyman!" Jaquilin screamed.

Keira looked in the doorway and saw nothing. "Huh? Wait, how did you two get out of your crib?" she asked.

"Boogeyman!" Katara screamed under the bed.

"I don't see anything," Keira said.

She then grabbed the two and put them back to bed. After closing the door, she said, "Did you scare them?"

"_**I can't seriously look that scary,**_" Dark said, turning visible and sitting down in the hall.

"Yes you do. And…why are you here?" Keira asked, courage slowly waning.

Dark smirked and said nothing. "Answer me," Keira said, raising her voice a bit.

He still said nothing and Keira asked, "You took over the instant Jak fell asleep, didn't you?"

"_**You should know by now,**_" Dark said.

"Did you?" Keira said.

Dark looked at her and Keira felt a shiver go down her spine. "_**Don't worry. I won't hurt you or them,**_" he said.

Keira crossed her arms and said, "I really doubt that. You hurt for pleasure."

"_**When was the last time I laid a hand on you?**_" Dark asked, sounding serious.

Keira said nothing and Dark immediately said, "_**There. Can't say much of anything, can you?**_"

'But…you…' Keira thought.

"_**And sorry about what happened with Jaqui. I know he didn't say much of anything,**_" Dark said.

"Wow…that's the first you've ever apologized for anything," Keira said.

Dark glared at her and immediately turned invisible. 'I guess Jak's controlling it more,' Keira said and headed back to her room.

* * *

_The next day…_

That morning, Keira and Samos were called in by the council for questioning, leaving Jak with the kids again. Due to the conversation yesterday, Keira worry lessened and she left.

After leaving, the kids began playing and began messing with Jak as he slept. Junior began poking him in the face while Katara, Damas and Jaquilin began singing.

"I like to ski! I like to ski! I like snow! It's so fluffy!" Katara started, singing something that she saw on TV.

"Likey snow!" Damas yelled, his first sentence.

That woke up Jak, who accidentally fell off the couch. "Ow…F…" Jak started and stopped.

The kids stared at him and he immediately said, "Fruitcake."

"What's that?" Jaquilin asked.

"Nasty crap," Jak said.

Junior poked him in the face again, as if he was some dead animal. "Stop it…" Jak said, glaring.

"Hide and seek!" Katara yelled.

"You've gotta be kiddin'," Jak said, still tired from last night.

"We hide! You seek!" Katara said.

The kids rushed/wobbled off and went to hide in the safe areas of the house (other areas were blocked off). 'I guess they must really want to play,' Jak thought.

'_**Eh, don't feel like it,**_" Dark said.

'_You never feel like doing anything. And why are you so tired?_' Light asked.

'Good question,' Jak thought.

Dark said nothing and Jak knew something was up. Jak got up from the floor and began looking for the kids. He headed into the bathroom and saw rustling. He pulled back the curtain and saw that Jaquilin was behind it.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey," Jak said.

He picked her up and said, "Where's everybody?"

Jaquilin covered her mouth and Jak said, "Not going to talk, huh?"

The girl shook her head and Jak sighed. 'It can't be that hard to find them,' he thought.

He immediately sensed the rest of the children's eco energy and headed to the strongest one. In his room, he found Katara hiding under the bed. "Wah," she said.

Damas hid in the closet and was playing with what looked like some ammo. "No! Don't touch!" Jak yelled, snatching the peacemaker ammo from him.

Damas was teary-eyed and the two kids followed Jak into the hallway. There, Jak sensed that Junior was hiding in the hall closet. He opened it and saw…no one.

"Wah!" Junior yelled and ran off…from what Jak could tell. The toddler was completely invisible and he ran into the living room.

Jak followed him and sensed that Junior's eco energy was stronger than usual. Once in the dining room, the hero found his namesake son under the table. Junior was visible again and he looked at Jak. He started laughing and poked him in the face.

'_**What is his deal?**_' Dark asked.

'_He's just curious. Leave him be,_' Light replied.

"Hide again!" Jaquilin yelled.

The kids rushed off and started to find places to hide. Sadly, Damas crashed into the kitchen barrier due to another discovered ability of his: flash freeze. That ability caused for him to run faster, thus crashing into the gate.

Jak heard and quickly ran into the kitchen. Damas sat on the ground, crying as he had hurt himself. Much to Jak's horror, a pot on the stove started to lean off the stove precariously. Within seconds, it fell and the hero used Flash Freeze, allowing for him to run faster and grab his son before the pot fell on him.

That, in turn, caused for Light to take over. Light quickly rushed over as the pot slowly fell towards Damas's head. Just before it could hit the toddler's head, Light scooped him up and the pot fell with a crash.

The kids came in the kitchen and saw Light. "Huh? Pretty glow!" Jaquilin said.

Katara poked him and said, "So…bright."

"I'm happy!" Junior said, making his first sentence.

'_My presence makes them…happy?_' Light thought.

Getting the feeling that Jak wanted to change back, Light released the body and Light Eco dispersed from Jak's body. Jak looked around and saw that the kids were still staring at him.

"What happened to glow?" Katara asked, looking a bit sad.

"Yeah," Jaquilin said.

"Yeah! Yeah!" the boys said.

'Okay, this isn't good,' Jak thought.

'_I told you to tell them, but no,_' Light told him.

"I…got a bit tired," Jak said, lying.

"Oh…" the kids said, accepting the lie.

* * *

_That evening…_

Keira and Samos came home and saw that Jak was on the couch, watching TV with the kids.

"Mommy!" the girls screamed, running to Keira.

"What took you all so long?" Jak asked.

"Well, they asked a lot of questions and we went to go eat afterwards," Keira said.

Jak, hearing something odd in her voice, knew that she half told the truth. "And Judge Magrace wishes to see you on tomorrow," Samos said.

Sensing that he was suspicious, Keira immediately said, "It's just on what happened two days ago."

The suspicion was gone and Keira inwardly sighed with relief.

* * *

_Earlier, Freedom League Headquarters…_

Keira and Samos sat in Judge Eliza Magrace's office as she asked them questions. Much to their surprise, the questions had nothing to do with what happened two days ago. Instead it was about Jak. After asking several questions about where he came from, how he was related to the Mar family, and other questions.

"From what I heard…Jak can turn into a…creature of some kind. And what we experience, it has a tendency to be very sadistic. Has he recently transformed before the incident?" Judge Magrace asked.

Keira said nothing at first and Judge Magrace said, "This is off the record, so I will not say anything in public about it."

Keira told her about what happened when Dark took control and spoke with her, but not about the accident with Jaqui. "Well, thank you for your time and tell Jak that I also need to speak with him about the incident."

Keira nodded and left with Samos. When they were gone, Judge Magrace said, "I think I found him…"

* * *

_Huh. I wonder who Judge Magrace really is. _

_-miano53_


	6. Chapter 6

"_The usurpation of the Mar family was a very, very sad day. Many of the family members were killed or went missing after Damas was exiled to the Wasteland. I heard that one of the Judge Magisters of Haven City is one. But, that's just a rumor."_

_-a Freedom League captain_

Chapter Six: Remembrance

_In a dream…_

A little boy with green hair and big, blue eyes walked the corridors of Old Haven Palace and met with a girl that looked awfully familiar. "Hey, Mar. Look what I got you," the girl said.

She opened up what looked like a box and the Seal of Mar was inside it. "Now, when you wear this, it'll remind you that you're a Son of Mar," the girl told him.

She fashioned it into a necklace and the boy lifted up his piece. The girl showed hers which was also fashioned into a necklace. "C'mon. Mom wants to see you," the girl said and led the boy to see their mother.

* * *

Jak woke up with a start and looked around. "What's wrong?" Keira asked, half-asleep.

Jak didn't answer and opened up his drawers to find his father and his Seal of Mar pendants. "You had that dream again, didn't you?" Keira asked.

Jak nodded and Keira said, "It's okay."

She started to rub his back to calm him and it was successful. 'Thank the Precursor's,' Keira thought and went back to sleep as Jak did.

* * *

_The next day, Judge Eliza Magrace's office…_

Judge Magrace stood next to a window in her office and began looking out the window. She looked around and saw the people of Haven City doing daily activities. She began playing with the pendant on her necklace and it looked oddly like the Seal of Mar.

As she did that, the Judge Magister began remembering what Daxter and the others told her about Jak…and his dark side. They told her many things, some she found disturbing and true to the files that she found.

Due to an ability that she had (blue eco channeling that gave her telekinesis like an eco sage), objects in the office began floating due to her lack of emotion control. "Ma'am," someone said.

The objects in the room fell with a thud and Judge Magrace turned around to see a Freedom League officer. "He's here. Do you want me to…?" he said.

"Let him in," Judge Magrace told him.

He left and she quickly put away her pendant. Within moments, Jak entered.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Yes. Please, sit," Judge Magrace said.

Jak plopped down in a chair in front of Magrace's desk and she began to interview him. She asked if he could remember anything on the massacre during the rescue and Jak couldn't.

'Huh…I guess it really does have a separated sentience,' Magrace thought.

"Is that all?" Jak asked.

"No…I also need your help in eradicating a group of surviving Metal Heads that have stationed at the Pumping Station. We don't know how they have survived, but we need them eradicated," Magrace told him.

Jak looked at her and he noticed that she didn't look him in the eye. "If you're wondering, we'll meet up at the Pumping Station tomorrow. Just bring your Morph Gun," Judge Magrace said.

He nodded and left. When he was gone, Magrace fainted.

* * *

_That night…_

Magrace lied in bed in her apartment on Haven's palatial district. 'Even if I prove it, what then,' she thought.

Magrace sat up and looked at her Seal of Mar pendant. 'It was just six years ago,' she thought.

* * *

_Six years ago, a wintery night in January…_

_Eliza woke up in the dead of night as someone shook her awake. "C'mon, let's go," the person said._

_She looked at him and said, "Sig? What are you doing here?"_

"_Put on your coat and let's go. They're coming," Sig said._

_Eliza jumped out of bed, put on her coat and ran into the halls of the Old Haven Palace with Sig. On the first floor, she saw Mar and her grandmother, Alexandra. _

"_Go!" Sig yelled._

_The screams and cries of servants, the lesser Mar family members and anyone else who stayed in the palace filled the air. As she ran, Eliza could see that parts of the palace were set ablaze. _

"_Wait!" Mar yelled._

_Alexandra picked up her grandson and Eliza immediately remembered something. "My music box!" she yelled and ran in the opposite direction, back to her room._

"_Elizabeth! Elizabeth! Come back!" Alexandra yelled, running after her with three-year-old Mar in her arms._

_Back in Elizabeth's room, Eliza began looking for her music box. She turned around when she saw that Alexandra and Mar had followed her. Alexandra shut the door behind her and said, "What are you doing?"_

_Mar looked in a chest of drawers and said, "Found it!"_

"_Hurry! Hurry!" Alexandra said, trying to get the kids to leave._

_Sig, who entered through a servant's door, yelled, "What are you doing here, cherries?"_

_He heard a crashing sound and knew that the traitorous Guard were coming. "Never mind! Through here!" he yelled, leading the royals into a passage._

_He was about to close the door when Eliza yelled, "Come with us!"_

"_Go! I'll be fine!" Sig yelled. He then shut and locked the door._

_The guards, now known as the Krimzon Guard, broke through the doors and saw that Sig was in the room. "Where are they, traitor?" one of them asked._

_Sig started fighting them and was winning when he was hit in the back of the head. _

_Outside, Eliza, Alexandra and Mar ran in the snow and the toddler tripped in the snow. "Mar!" Eliza yelled._

_She helped him up and started running again with them when a man grabbed her from behind. "AAH!" she screamed._

"_Kor!" Alexandra yelled._

"_You'll never escape!" Kor said._

_Within moments, a power that had lain dormant awoke in Eliza and she pushed him back with a psychic blast. "Let me go!" she yelled._

_Kor was blasted to who-knew-where and the group headed for the air train station. There, the first train started to move and Eliza was helped on. Alexandra was next and the two immediately saw that Mar had trouble getting on board. _

"_Help!" he said, running._

_Eliza stretched out her hand and grabbed a hold of his right. "Don't let go!" Mar said, crying._

_Eliza started to pull him up with Alexandra helping her. To their horror, Mar's grip failed and he fell. "Mar!" Eliza screamed._

_Mar hit his head on the tracks and Alexandra yelled, "MAR!"_

_The train gained more speed and the two never saw him again…_

* * *

Jak woke up in a cold sweat and started looking around. He was still in his own bed and Keira woke up to see him paler than usual. "You okay?" she asked.

Jak said nothing and Keira thought that he was going Dark. "What happened? You had that dream again," Keira asked.

"Not a dream…It felt like…" Jak said.

"A memory? Well, I know that you don't remember much before you met us. So, you could be remembering something from before," Keira said.

Jak thought about it and said nothing. "Just go back to sleep," Keira said, sleepily.

After ten minutes of thinking about the dream, he did.

* * *

_The next morning, Pumping Station…_

Judge Magrace saw that Jak had made it, but Daxter was on his shoulder. "What is he doing here?" Magrace asked.

"Sheesh, can't I get a 'Good morning'?" Daxter asked.

Magrace sighed and said, "The Metal Heads are in the furthest parts of the Station. Follow me."

Jak nodded and started to follow her when he felt a pain on his right shoulder. Daxter saw him wince and looked around. A bug had bit him and Daxter swatted the thing away. When he did, the bug fell to the ground and it didn't look normal as eco started to ooze from it.

"What's that?" Daxter said.

He hopped off Jak's shoulder and was about to pick it up when Magrace yelled, "Hey! The Metal Heads will move if we don't hurry."

Jak looked at her and then back at Daxter. He shrugged and the ottsel hopped back on his shoulder. The two followed the Judge Magister.

A bit later, they arrived at the place. Jak looked around and thought, 'Where's the Metal Heads?'

"Hey, isn't this the place where we met 'Sweet Stripes'?" Daxter asked.

"Daxter, I thought you were married," Magrace told him.

"Yeah, but I'm sure it's okay to still have healthy attractions," Daxter said.

Suddenly, Jak slumped to the ground. "What's wrong? Jak? Jak!" Daxter said.

The man's skin suddenly turned a pale grey and Daxter knew something was wrong. 'That wasn't just a bug bite,' Daxter thought.

Judge Magrace readied her pistols and the two saw Dark come out. "_**You did it, didn't you?**_" Dark asked, getting up from off the ground.

Judge Magrace's face became serious and she looked at Daxter. He was blown back by a wind gust. When he saw that he wasn't on his best buddy's shoulder anymore, Daxter ran back to the two. He was stopped by what looked like a barrier.

Judge Magrace immediately said, "I want to test you. To see how strong you are and if the rumors about you are true."

Dark smirked and said, "_**I hope that you provide a challenge**_."

"I hope so too," Judge Magrace said.

Dark lunged at her and swiped at her face. Instead of the attack connecting, he was met with a teleporting opponent. The dark creature turned and was met with a hail of bullets.

He looked around and saw something that amazed him (which was rare). Magrace, using her abilities, was standing on one of the barrier walls as if she was on terra firma. After the injuries healed, Dark went after her.

As he ran to her, Magrace kept shooting at him. Some of the bullets grazed his face; others hit his arms and legs. When he was close enough, Dark performed the Dark Blast ability.

Magrace teleported out of the way and something odd happened. Dark didn't lose much in the way of Dark Eco. Satisfied, he went back to attacking Magrace.

Magrace thought, 'I think I gave him too much.'

Dark swiped at her and she blocked with her pistols. He then low kicked her, knocking the judge to the ground. The creature was about to stab her when Magrace teleported again.

She kept shooting, much to Dark's annoyance. So, he performed Dark Strike. Magrace saw that it was a homing attack and jumped out of the way. The blast hit the barrier and started to weaken it.

"Yeah! Give her the ol' one-two!" Daxter yelled cheering (and hoping that Dark wouldn't kill the Judge).

Dark ignored him and was about to attack again when he was kicked in the face. "Yah!" Magrace yelled.

She then performed several kicks that hit him in the face, stomach and chest. After she was done with the combo, she shot him in the chest. The range was point blank and Dark fell back.

Within moments, he healed again and growled with anger. Magrace started to teleport again and attacked. This time, she shot him in the arms and legs, kicked him repeatedly and finished with a psychic blast.

"Uh oh," Daxter said, noticing that more dark bolts were coming out of Dark.

"Is that it? I guess the rumors about you aren't so true after all," Magrace said, shrugging her shoulders.

Dark got up after healing again and immediately turned invisible. Magrace looked around and said, "I can sense where you are, Jak."

She, without turning, pointed her gun and said, "I win."

Magrace hit the invisible creature and Dark turned visible. "I guess you're not as…strong as people say that you are," Magrace said.

"_**Think again**_," Dark said and a ring of dark energy surrounded Magrace.

The ring bound Magrace and she couldn't get out. Dark was about to end her when Magrace used most of her power to destroy the ring. After it was gone, Magrace looked exhausted. So, Dark used that to his advantage.

He turned invisible again and charged at the Judge. Magrace, tired, couldn't tell where he was coming from. So, she started shooting at the footprints she saw.

The gun in her left hand suddenly went flying. "Oh no…" she said, knowing that he was near.

So, she started shooting at everything that rustled. "Where is he?" she muttered.

Magrace dropped her gun when she felt a severe pain in her stomach. "_**Surprise,**_" Dark said and turned visible.

The Judge saw that he had stabbed her in the stomach. Since she was at her weakest, the barrier fell and Daxter yelled, "Dark! What did you do?"

Instead of releaser her, he dug his claws further in to hasten her death. "_**Your deception failed. You and the others can keep trying, but you'll never beat me**_," he said.

Magrace looked at him and touched his face. That caused for something odd to happen. She started to absorb his eco to heal herself, just like what happened with Jaquilin. Jak released her, passed out and turned back to normal.

"Jak! Jak!" Daxter yelled.

"I'm sorry," Magrace said.

She then turned on her distress beacon and walked over to Jak. "Hey! Back off, toots!" Daxter yelled, getting into a karate pose.

Magrace ignored him and took out a small syringe. She inserted it into his neck and shot the contents into him. "What are you doing?" Daxter screamed.

"Shh!" Magrace said.

Jak woke up and looked around. "W-what happened?" he said.

Just before Daxter could say anything, a transport from Haven picked them up and took them back to the city.

* * *

_Two days later, Saturday…_

Magrace, who had went to her office to look for the pendant that she lost, headed home in defeat. After heading home and settling in, she began looking for the pendant. Two hours passed and Magrace sat on her couch, saddened.

'Where is it? I shouldn't have lost it so easily,' she thought.

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. Using her ability, she opened the door without getting up from the couch.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Jak asked, coming in.

"What are you doing here?" Magrace asked, looking serious.

"Easy. I'm just here to…" Jak said.

"Ask me a question. I know. It's about what happened two days ago," Magrace said.

The door suddenly shut behind Jak and he started to get tense. "I'm fine…" Magrace said, reading the hero's thoughts again.

"And how did I do that? I have telepathy and telekinesis through my ability to control blue eco," Magrace explained.

Jak said nothing as two of his questions were asked. He started to relax when Magrace said, "And you have…my pendant. Your dark side took it from me in battle when it…"

"So, if you know that, who are you?" Jak asked, not caring about what she said.

"Give me my pendant and I'll tell you," Magrace said.

Jak threw the pendant to her and it started to glow. "It only does that when it's near a member of the House of Mar. Yours did the same, didn't it?" Magrace said.

Jak immediately started to remember someone else who said the same thing. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked, not sure who Judge Magrace was.

"I'm sorry for letting you go on that day, Mar…" Magrace told him.

The hero immediately had a flashback on who the Judge was.

* * *

_Six years ago (sixteen for Jak)…_

_Three year old Mar (aka Jak) walked through the corridors of the Old Haven Palace and saw that his sister, Elizabeth, was holding something behind her back._

"_Hey Mar. Look what I got you," Elizabeth said, revealing the box._

"_What that? What that? What is THAT?" Mar yelled, pointing at the box._

"_This is your Seal. Dad said that you can wear it now that you're old enough. Now, when you wear this, it'll remind you that you're a Son of Mar," Elizabeth told him._

"_So, I just look at it?" Mar asked._

_Elizabeth nodded and said, "C'mon. Mom wants to see you."_

_The two left and headed to see their mother…_

* * *

Jak snapped out of it and said, "You're…?"

"Your older sister, Elizabeth Grace Mar? Yes. And how did I find out? Sig told me," Magrace, or Elizabeth, said.

Jak looked shocked and Elizabeth told him, "You can go home and digest all this."

The door opened and Jak left. As he drove home, he thought, 'What…just happened?'

'_You found out that Judge Magrace is your sister and also that Dark tried to kill her,_' Light said in Jak's thoughts.

'_**Hey, she tried to kill us first!**_' Dark said.

'_But you showed no restraint!_' Light yelled.

'_**She gave me no choice!**_' Dark yelled back.

'Quiet!' Jak thought.

Once he was home, he slumped on the couch. Daxter, Tess and David had come over for a movie day. When they saw him sitting on the couch, Daxter said, "Jak, you okay?"

"What wrong with Daddy?" Katara asked.

Junior started poking him and said, "Hi!"

Jak did nothing. He just sat there, thus making the kids worry.

"Jak, what happened when you returned Magrace's amulet?" Keira asked.

"She's my sister," Jak muttered.

"WHAT?" Daxter yelled.

"What happened?" Tess asked, not hearing Jak.

"The Judge that nearly killed you is your sister?" Daxter asked.

"Well, they both have the same shaped nose and colored eyes," Keira said.

"So…what are you gonna do?" Tess asked.

"What are you talking about?" Jak asked.

"Well, you can't ignore her or anything. So, what are you gonna do?" Tess asked.

Jak said nothing and Daxter said, "If you can't think of anything, then I will."

"Please don't," Jak said.

"Too late!" Daxter said.

Jak glared at him and Daxter smirked. 'Why didn't she say anything before,' Jak thought.

* * *

_So, Jak found his sister. And if anyone wants to know, Elizabeth's about 24 years old._

_-miano53_


	7. Chapter 7

_Thank you again to KHLegacy for their review. But not so much in thanks to Actingnerd95 as your review was more of a flame. Next time, just ask where it came from instead of saying something is a rip-off. I did put a disclaimer in the story before, so that covers it. Anywho, here's the next chapter. And as always, make sure your review is helpful, not insulting, trolling and/or name calling._

_-miano53_

* * *

"_With those eco psyches, they can read the eco channels in people. Since Blue Eco is prevalent in humans due to the nerve channels, reading minds for them is a simple task."_

_-Seem, head monk of the Precursor Temple_

Chapter Seven: Trauma

_A week before…_

_Judge Magrace sat in her chair as she interviewed Daxter and Tess on what happened two days ago. As she listened to him, Magrace kept thinking about how…insane Jak had sounded when he called for the orders from Ashelin._

'_He didn't sound much in the way of a sane human,' she thought._

"_Well, I'm done," Daxter said._

_That snapped the Judge Magister from her thoughts. "Oh, well. I have more questions for you, but it'll be off the record," Magrace said._

"_Okay, shoot," Daxter said._

"_When was the first time Jak's…dark powers manifested?" Magrace asked._

"_You sure you wanna say anything about that?" Tess asked._

"_She said it's off the record, so it'll be fine," Daxter said._

_Tess shrugged and Daxter started on when he broke Jak out of prison. _

"_I told him that I looked for him for two years and then asked if he could say anything at least one time in his life. He did, said something about killing Baron Praxis and broke out of the chair when I went to find the button to release him. That made that Dark Eco stuff activate and he almost tried to claw me when he suddenly turned back to normal," Daxter explained._

"_So, did it calm?" Magrace asked._

"_Nope, 'cause he went Dark again after we broke out," Daxter said._

"_Oh…Did it appear often?" Magrace asked._

"_Yeah, but only when he was pissed. So don't piss him off," Daxter said._

"_Oh. Thank you. That is all," Magrace said._

_The two ottsels left and Magrace sat in silence, horrified by the new information_.

* * *

_Present day…_

Judge Magrace sat in a meeting with Governor Ashelin and they began talking about the crime levels in the city, the economy, the waning Metal Head populations and the most recent devastating storms that hit some of the islands near Haven City. As the meeting drew on, Ashelin noticed that Magrace said nothing.

"Judge Magrace. Magrace!" Ashelin said.

"Huh?" Magrace said, coming out of her thoughts.

"You spaced out there," Torn said.

"I'm fine. What were you saying?" Magrace said.

"Well, we need to send aid to the Emerald and Atoll Isles. The storms managed to destroy most of the isles and the food supply there. The total cost of the rebuilding and sending food is around 10 million orbs," Ashelin said.

As she spoke, Magrace spaced out again. Torn noticed this and the council were adjourned for lunch. Before Magrace could leave the building, Torn pulled her aside in the first floor halls.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing!" Magrace said.

"You turned pale when Jak came in. Neither of you greeted each other with the usual. What's going on?" Torn asked.

"Nothing! It's just…" Magrace said.

Torn looked at her and Magrace immediately said, "He found out something yesterday and I'm afraid that…"

The vice governor and commander of the Freedom League looked at her with confusion and Magrace immediately said, "I have to go."

"I won't say anything if you won't, Your Highness," Torn said.

Magrace turned around and said, "How long have you known?"

"Since you returned to the city four years ago. And I kinda figured when I wrote your name down. Why did you say 'Magrace'? Margrace would've made more sense," Torn said.

"I did say that. You wrote it down wrong," Magrace told him.

Torn shook his head and said, "If you want to leave for the day, I won't stop you."

He then left and Magrace left, heading home for the day.

* * *

_That night…_

Judge Magrace (aka Elizabeth) sat up, watching whatever she could on the TV. Since she couldn't find anything on, she turned it off and started to feel depressed.

'I failed. She was right. It's my fault that he's like this,' Magrace thought.

She started to remember what happened after her grandmother and she escaped Haven City.

* * *

_Six years ago, the Icelands…_

_Alexandra and Elizabeth arrived in one of the ancient fortresses of the Mar family. There, Mar and Elizabeth's mother, Victoria, greeted them and was shocked at a strange sight. _

"_Where is Mar?" Victoria asked._

_Elizabeth looked sullen and Victoria thought it was insolence (as the two had an argument a few days before). Victoria looked at Alexandra and saw that her mother-in-law said nothing._

_Now filled with rage as the two didn't answer her question about her son, she screamed, "Where is he?"_

"_He…fell when we tried to pull him onto the air train," Elizabeth replied._

_Victoria looked at her in disbelief and Elizabeth immediately said, "It was an accident!"_

_Still angered that her daughter allowed for her brother to fall (and also at the City for kicking out her family), Victoria slapped Elizabeth in the face, knocking her to the ground. _

"_You don't understand! We lost the only one who could've helped us get back on the throne and save the city! You've doomed us all!" Victoria yelled._

"_What's going on?" someone said, hearing the noise._

"_Damas…" Alexandra said._

_Damas, who had arrived via a transport that he 'borrowed', looked at her, then Elizabeth and then at Victoria. "Where's Mar?" he asked._

"_Our insolent daughter lost him," Victoria said._

"_What?" Damas said, not believing what she said._

"_It's my fault as well," Alexandra said._

_Damas looked sullen and Elizabeth said, "I'll find him. I'll find him."_

"_You lost him and you think that doing this will make up for it?" Victoria yelled._

"_Yes! I'll find him and I'll prove that I'm not this 'worthless daughter' you keep harping on about!" Elizabeth said._

"_That's what you….!" Victoria yelled._

"_Enough! Both of you! Victoria, letting your anger out on her isn't helping. We are going to find Mar! And take back what's ours," Damas said._

_The surviving members followed Damas to the transport as the old fortress was dangerous to stay in as the Metal Heads and Praxis's forces were looking for them…_

* * *

_At Daxter's place, the Naughty Ottsel (2 a.m.)…_

Since everyone's kids were at home with babysitters, grandparents, asleep and/or godparents, Daxter had an idea to play a very sinister game called Amnesia.

When Jak, Keira and Tess heard that he wanted to play, Jak said, "Why? The last time we watched you play something like that, you messed your pants."

"So? And I'm not playing. You're playing with me," Daxter said.

Jak glared at him and Keira said, "We really have to go home."

"C'mon, just one hour and you can go," Daxter said.

"Are you that scared of horror games?" Tess asked.

"No!" Daxter yelled.

"Yes you are," Jak said.

Daxter glared and the poor guy agreed to stay.

'_You sure you want to do this? The last time you played something like this, that Penumbra thing, you accidentally destroyed the computer,'_ Light said.

'Blame Dark,' Jak thought.

'_**Hey, I wasn't the one screaming like…**_' Dark said, pausing suddenly.

Jak immediately sensed something odd and Keira said, "Something wrong?"

The man nodded and Daxter said, "If this is your way of getting out of playing, it didn't work, Jak!"

Jak rolled his eyes and started up the game, much to Daxter's happiness. The real reason as to why he wanted his buddy to stay was that he wanted to see Jak's reactions to something that didn't allow the use of any weapons, being in an otherworldly castle, having no memories and having monsters patrol said castle.

He got it within thirty minutes. Daxter had led the main character into a hallway and immediately cursed as he heard a monster come up from behind him. Since the living room was dark, the speakers on surround sound mode and Daxter not knowing what to do, he cursed.

He then went into the next room. Within seconds, he saw that the monster was right behind him. So, he closed the door and screamed, "OOH! IT'S BEHIND ME! OOH!"

Daxter led the main character to a dark corner and paused the game. He started crying instantly. Tess patted his back while Keira covered her eyes using Jak's shoulder.

Jak, however, wasn't too scared as the persona of Dark started to kick in. So, he made fun of his friend. "Oh my god, that was freakin' hilarious!" he said.

"Jesus Christ, I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die in this game," Daxter said, crying.

"Well, you could always try again tomorrow," Tess said.

Daxter kept crying and Jak said, "We'll be going now."

He looked over at Keira and saw that she was clutching his arm for dear life. "It's not that scary," Jak said.

"Not that scary? You can't play that thing at night!" Keira yelled.

Jak rolled his eyes and the two headed home.

* * *

_Later that morning…_

After preparing to go on some patrols in the Wastleland, Jak was stopped by Samos. "Jak, did you get the alert from Ashelin?" he asked.

"About what?" Jak asked.

"Vin said something of a power surge coming from the palatial district. Ashelin wants us to check on it," Samos said.

"Yeah, he's right about that, Jak. There's been a surge of blue eco in the area and that caused for most of the zoomers to go out of control. Ashelin called for the area to be evacuated," Vin said on Jak's communicator.

Just before Jak could say anything, his zoomer started to float in high hover mode on its own. "What the…?" Jak muttered.

"Oh no…The danger of the situation has been raised to medium. I suggest that you find out what's going on," Vin said over the communicator.

The zoomer immediately went back down to low hover mode and the two hopped in it. With Samos's direction, Jak headed in the direction of the power surge.

He stopped suddenly when he saw the Freedom League, Ashelin, Torn and Sig standing outside of an apartment building. Ashelin was talking with the news media and kept reassuring them that the surge was only in the palace district.

"We are currently investigating the power surge. Until then, we've asked the residents of the area to evacuate until further notice," Ashelin told them.

The cameras backed off to a safer distance and Ashelin said, "Jak, we need you, Samos and Sig to go into the building and investigate what's going on."

"And take this," she added, giving Jak a collar.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"You'll figure it out when you get in there, soldier," Torn said.

Jak and Samos left the car and joined Sig. "Hey, Cherry. Whatever or whoever's in there is causing the surge of eco," Sig told them.

"Um, guys…You better hurry up and find the cause. The eco here is making everything unstable. So, you only have fifteen minutes to find the cause before you're disintegrated," Vin said over the com.

Jak looked at what was a garden of flowers and the flowers suddenly turned to dust. "Uh, make that ten," Vin immediately said.

The three headed into the apartment and Vin told them were the source was. As they climbed the stairs to the top floor, objects in the building were levitating and some were in mid-disintegration. The men stopped in front of door of the apartment of Judge Magrace.

"I knew it," Sig said.

Jak kicked down the door and the three were shocked to see the interior of the place. Most of the objects in the room looked like they were in mid-disintegration. The air was stagnant and he felt as if he was about to be torn to shreds.

"Guys, the situation is critical! You only have five minutes before you disintegrate!" Vin yelled.

Samos found the source and saw that Magrace was the source. She, seemingly asleep, was floating above her couch and most of the objects around her had turned to dust. "Not again," Sig said.

'Again?' Jak thought.

"We need to get her out of the nightmare that she's in," Samos said. He then started to use his internal green eco to contact Magrace.

Instead, she subconsciously blocked him. "She's blocking me," Samos said.

Within moments, Magrace's body turned into eco. "Guys! Get out of there now! Situation is critical!" Vin yelled.

Sig and Samos bolted for the door and stopped when they noticed that Jak didn't move.

"What are you doing, Jak?" Samos asked.

"Helping her," Jak said.

'_**What? You can't stop her!**_' Dark said.

'_Yes he can. All he needs to do is put on that collar on her and the eco crystal will absorb her powers,'_ Light said.

'_**But what if it doesn't work? Then everyone will die!**_' Dark said.

Jak, ignoring Dark, started walking up to Magrace. Magrace pushed him back with blue eco. Samos was about to stay when Sig pulled him out of the apartment.

"He knows what he's doing," Sig said.

"Yes, but she's at the level of a sage. Destroying him and the city will be easy," Samos said, worried for his son-in-law.

The two rushed out of the building, hoping that Jak would survive.

* * *

_Outside…_

Ashelin, Torn and the hundreds of others that evacuated the palace district, saw the massive amount of blue eco coming from the top floor of the building. The blue eco looked like a cloud of lightning, scaring and amazing people.

Ashelin's amazement died once she saw that Samos and Sig had ran out of the building without Jak. "Where's Jak?" she asked.

"In the building. He said that he would handle it," Sig said.

"What? Jak, get out of there!" Torn yelled, using the com.

Instead of receiving a reply, there was static over the com. "Guys, move back another two hundred feet! The energy levels are unstable!" Vin yelled.

They did and the news crews started showing all of Haven, Spargus and Kras what was going on.

* * *

_At the Naughty Ottsel…_

Keira, her kids, Daxter, Tess, David and Rip (who was there due to the evacuations) looked at the TV in worry. They saw the cloud of what looked like lightning surrounding one of the buildings and an anxious reporter.

"Sources told me that a special ops team is inside, attempting to contain the eco cloud. They've been at for ten minutes," the reporter said.

"That couldn't be what Ashelin was talking about," Keira said.

Daxter, worried for his friend, thought, 'C'mon Jak.'

Their worries intensified once they saw that the roof and top floors of the building were destroyed.

* * *

_A few minutes before inside the building…_

Jak saw that his sister had turned into a being of blue eco. A cloud of it surrounded her and bolts of eco began hitting the walls, destroying them instantly.

'I gotta stop her now,' he thought.

He attempted to come closer when he was pushed back by a bolt of blue eco. Since he was still able to channel eco, but not blue, Jak felt pain, but he didn't turn to dust.

'_Use your powers!'_ Light suggested.

Jak did and used Light Freeze, hoping to get enough time to put the collar on Magrace before she could push him back. What he forgot was that blue eco was the energy of motion. So, when he used Light Freeze, Magrace wasn't affected.

Once again, he was pushed back, this time by the winds that Magrace subconsciously controlled. That blasted him out of his Light form.

"Hey! Wake up! Elizabeth, wake up!" Jak yelled.

Instead of doing that, she did something that most would consider…gruesome. She, manipulating the blue eco in left Jak, started to disintegrate him. Jak's body immediately started to heal itself and started a very tortuous minute of pure pain.

After healing, Jak attempted to get up, but was hit with another wave of blue eco. The eco started to irritate the light and dark ecos in Jak, thus causing pain. Sending wave after wave of eco, Magrace didn't let up.

The waves also began destroying the building, breaking the walls down and turning the roof into dust. After seeing that the roof was gone and most of the top floor was giving way, Jak rushed to Magrace, hoping to put the collar on her.

Instead, he was stopped in mid-air when he attempted a lunge. The cloud engulfed him and started tearing the hero to shreds. Seconds after being engulfed, the hero had disintegrated…

* * *

_Outside…_

Samos gasped as he didn't feel Jak's eco energy. "Oh no…" he said.

"What happened?" Ashelin asked.

"Jak's eco energy is gone! I repeat! Jak's eco energy is gone!" Vin yelled over the com.

The group looked sullen and saw that more of the building was destroyed. Within moments, parts of the districts started to turn to dust.

"We're dead," Torn said, not seeing any hope.

The group of people saw that the skies suddenly darkened and storm clouds started to roll in.

"The eco storms? Here?" Samos said.

"Um, I'm picking up another energy signal! It's coming from the building and it's strong!" Vin yelled.

Within the cloud, the mass of people saw lights of purple and white coming from the cloud. The lights suddenly combined, blasted back the people into the port district and nearly knocking out communications around the city.

"What's going on, Vin?" Ashelin asked.

"Um…There's another massive energy in the district. My calculations are that it can contain the blue eco cloud. But you can't go into the district or else you'll be ripped to shreds," Vin said over the now static filled com.

The cloud suddenly engulfed most of the district and the skies around it. That intensified the storms, creating lighting and thunder. A torrential downpour also started and the winds picked up, causing for the waves to grow stronger.

"Inside!" Samos said. The crowd of people left the area, heading inside homes, businesses and whatever was open. The news crews, however, didn't.

* * *

_In the Naughty Ottsel…_

Jaquilin looked at Keira and said, "Is Daddy gonna be okay?"

Since Keira couldn't sense Jak, she couldn't say anything. "Don't worry. Jak'll come back real soon," Daxter said for her.

"But if these storms don't lessen," Tess said.

The small group saw that Torn, Ashelin, Samos and Sig had entered with a few members of the crowd.

"Hi!" Rip said, happy.

Torn picked him up and looked at the TV. "The order has been given for everyone to stay indoors and not to go into the palace district," a reporter said.

"The shields are up, correct?" the news anchor said.

"Yes. Governor Acheron has given the order. But officials tell me that mass evacuations are in order," the reporter said.

"I didn't say that. Who told them that?" Ashelin asked.

Several claps of thunder were heard in the background and the cloud expanded to the point where it nearly penetrated the shield walls. 'Jak, where are you?' Keira thought as she saw the waves grow larger and splashing onto the port.

* * *

_Inside the building…_

Jak woke up suddenly to see that he was surprisingly still alive and hovering in the air for some reason. He looked around and saw nothing but eco clouds everywhere. What shocked him most was his appearance.

He looked at his hands and saw that he was now made of eco. Both the Light and Dark Ecos inside of him had combined to form a great energy, similar to the energy used to destroy the Dark Maker ship four years ago.

Jak looked up and saw that Magrace was still in a comatose state. Within seconds, he could sense the presence of someone else. 'She's being controlled,' he thought.

To his surprise, neither Light nor Dark replied to his thoughts. He also couldn't feel their mental presence.

As if sensing that he was still alive, Magrace started commanding for the eco storm to attack Jak. He dodged the bolt and noticed that he was faster than usual. Thirteen more lightning bolts were hurled his way and the hero dodged with ease.

Magrace flew higher into the clouds and Jak thought to follow her. Just with his light form, wings came from his back and he started to follow. The siblings stopped when they were near the top of the storm clouds.

Since he didn't have the collar anymore, lost after the disintegration wave, Jak had to think of another way to release Magrace from her mental torment. Just before he could act, Magrace released a wave of blue eco.

Jak raised a shield that looked a bit different than his Light Shield. Instead of being colored blue and white (due to the Light Eco), it was now purple in color (due to the combination of Dark Eco). The shield, much stronger than before, protected him from the waves of energy coming from Magrace.

After several attempts, she stopped and started commanding another disintegration wind. It hit Jak, but didn't affect him like before. The hero countered with a blast of dark lightning. The lightning hit Magrace and she felt out of the sky.

Jak was about to follow when the mind controlled Judge Magister flew back up and hit him with a blast of eco. Jak fell a bit and flew back up. 'Okay, that didn't work,' he thought.

Magrace, commanding parts of nearby buildings with blue eco, began throwing things at the hero. Jak blocked with a shield, dodged and countered with dark lightning. After several moments, he thought to use Dark Strike. He did and the balls of energy hit the controlled.

The woman was hit in the face by it, forcing whoever controlled her to release her. The raw energy forced the storms to cease and Magrace's powers to calm. That caused her to fall out of the sky.

Jak immediately flew down to save her. Within seconds, he caught her and flew off to the direction of the New Center District…

* * *

_Days later…_

Samos looked at Magrace, who lied in a hospital bed. She had sensors around her forehead and a heart monitor connected to her left ring finger. The machines connected to her told the doctors that she was stable.

Jak looked at the sight with his father-in-law and Samos said, "We were able to see what happened with her mental state. It seems that whoever had entered her mind caused for her to have a total mental collapse. But what amazes me is that her mind is repairing itself."

Jak remembered what happened and said nothing. "There was a presence of Light Eco inside of her, but she can't use it," Samos said.

The hero still said nothing and Samos said, "You helped her, didn't you? Giving her some of your eco to heal her?"

Jak nodded and Samos said, "That was ingenious. But remember that you can't do that often. Giving someone your own eco is like giving your life energy to them. Give too much and you risk dying."

He then left and Jak entered the room. He looked at Magrace, who looked as if she was at peace.

"I guess you won't remember any of this," Jak said.

His voice woke her up and Jak was pushed back. Magrace looked around and saw Jak. "Mar?" she said.

He nodded and asked, "You remember anything?"

Magrace shook her head and Jak muttered, "I knew it."

"What happened?" Magrace asked.

Within moments, she read his mind and saw destruction. That caused for her emotions to go out of control as well as her powers. The machines started to flicker on and off and Jak grabbed her.

"Calm down. Calm down," he said.

"I did all that? I wouldn't…." Magrace said, crying.

Jak did something that he only did for family. He hugged her. Magrace hugged him back and her emotions were stable again.

He quickly released her and said, "It's okay. We found out what happened."

"But…I'm a mon…." Magrace said.

"Don't say that. You're not a monster," Jak said, remembering all the times he was called one.

He then left and Magrace said, "Yes I am."

* * *

_Wow, I think this is my longest chapter yet. So, read, review and listen to the track "The Greatest Jubilee" from Bayonetta, as that was my inspiration for the battle in this chapter._


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks to evilanimegenious for their review. Yep, if only Jak was that powerful in game…sigh._

_-miano53_

* * *

"_Forgiving oneself is a must if one has done something wrong. If the one that you've done wrong forgave you, you now have the job of forgiving yourself."_

_-Seem, leader of the Precursor Temple monks_

Chapter Eight: Forgiveness

_Two days ago, the Icelands, Mar's Citadel…_

A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, looked out of the window of her room in the south wing. She looked at the sky and saw that the storms around the icelands were getting worse. She looked at a photo of her son, Mar, that she was holding and looked sadden.

"Ma'am…are you alright?" someone asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," the woman said.

"Duke Skyheed wants to speak with you," the man said.

He left and the woman headed into the citadel's throne room. There, the hologram image of the Aeropan ruler appeared and looked at her.

"Your Majesty, it seems that your vengeance plan failed," he said.

The woman, Victoria Algos-Mar (widow of Damas Mar II), looked at Skyheed and said, "Well, I just gave her a little incentive to do as she's told. She was supposed to destroy Haven, but that Mar imposter released my hold on her."

"Well, if you want, we can always help you enact your vengeance, Majesty," Skyheed said.

"No, I'm not allowing you Dark Mutants to come into my affairs. You'll put the Mar family name to shame," Victoria said.

"Well, it isn't as if one of your own isn't already using Dark Eco," Skyheed said and shut off the link.

Victoria looked confused. "What does he mean…?" she said.

* * *

_Saturday, June 21st 350 N.P.T. (two days after recovering)…_

Elizabeth, who let go of the false name Eliza Magrace, lied down in her hospital bed and looked out of the window. The storms from two days ago subsided and the port looked calm. The people of Haven City went back to their daily lives and the palace district was once again under construction.

Depressed, she didn't sit up or anything. She sighed and saw that one of the nurses had come in to check on her. "Hello, I'm here to…" he said.

"Check my vitals? I know," Elizabeth said.

The nurse smirked and started to check the Judge's vitals. After he was finished, he left and didn't notice that Elizabeth had stolen his wallet. She quickly put on some nurse's clothes that she…"persuaded" someone to give her.

Once the clothes were on, she snuck out of her room and manipulated the minds of the security and staff of the hospital, to the point where they didn't remember her leaving. Outside, she hopped into a taxi zoomer and sped off.

* * *

_The Naughty Ottsel, 7:30 p.m…_

The friends of the Mar family gathered at the now restaurant and bar due to a very special occasion. It was Jak's 22nd birthday and Daxter threw a party for him. The Mar twins gave their father cards, mostly written in illegible script and the others gave Jak what he usually wanted, beer.

The party was going fine until one question was asked. Jaquilin, innocent as a kid could be, asked the question no parent is ready for.

"Daddy, where did me and Katara come from?" Jaquilin asked.

Jak immediately blanched and Keira said, "Uh….Oh no."

Torn, drunk, started laughing uproariously. Ashelin started laughing and Daxter looked sorry for Jak.

"I guess it's time to tell them, Cherry," Sig said, trying not to laugh.

"Well, um…" Jak said. He looked to Keira for support and the woman looked away.

"They come from that green sun," Rip said.

'Oh thank god,' Jak thought.

'_Well, you're going to win "Father of the Year",'_ Light said, being sarcastic.

'_**Yeah, what he said**_,' Dark said, agreeing.

'That's different,' Jak thought.

"Oh, so we're stars?" Jaquilin asked.

"I heard that babies come from bad nights," David yelled.

The entire party glared at Daxter and he said, "What?"

Jak immediately started to remember something that only came with the song "Walk of Shame". The song applied to him as he wasn't proud of that night of heavy drinking after winning the Kras City Grand Championship.

* * *

_Two years, three months ago, after the Championship, Haven City…_

_The morning after, he woke up in a place that he least expected. "This ain't my bed….This ain't my room," Jak said aloud, looking around._

_He had fallen asleep on a cot in the back of the Naughty Ottsel. He looked and saw that he was wearing someone else's pants and shirt. The shirt had come from Keira and the pants looked like they belonged to her as well._

"_What the heck did I do last night?" Jak asked himself._

'_**Crazy stuff**,' Dark said, feeling the severe effects of a hangover._

'_And apparently you did the Walk of Shame from Keira's home…while in a drunken state,'_ _Light told him._

_Jak, now embarrassed, left the Naughty Ottsel and was pleased to see that everyone who was at the party was gone and the place was closed. He put on a hat and started to head home, hoping no one would recognize him._

_Someone did and yelled, "Hey Jak! Great party, dude! Woo!"_

_That someone was one of Daxter's friends, Ximon. Jak put his hat down low, pretended that he didn't know him and started to walk off._

"_Hey! Dude! Why are you wearing Keira's clothes?" Ximon asked, running up to him._

"_I don't know…" Jak said._

"_Well, after what happened last night, one of you had to do the Walk of Shame. But next time, be prepared. Pack a change of clothes, tic-tacks, some Axe body spray, some towels and washcloths. You gotta be prepared before you do this stuff so you can take the Walk of Shame with pride, man," Ximon told him._

"_Yeah. I'll try to remember that," Jak said and walked home._

_He then realized a month later that Keira was pregnant…_

* * *

_Back in the present…_

'_Well, the only good that came from that night of partying was the girls,'_ Light said.

'_**Wow, that was sappy,**_' Dark said.

"Where do babies come from, Unca Sig?" Katara asked.

The kids stared at him and Sig immediately said, "Your mom and dad'll tell you when you're older, Cherries?"

"Why do you call everybody 'Cherry'?" Rip asked.

'Whew,' Jak thought, happy that he avoided "the talk" with toddlers.

"Is it 'cause you can't remember names? 'Cause Mom said that you can't remember names!" Rip asked.

Sig looked at Ashelin and she started taking more sips from her cup. "Well, it's a term of endearment," Sig said.

"What's that?" Rip asked.

"That means he likes ya! Daddy said so!" David yelled.

As the kids started to chat away with what limited vocabulary they had, Jak sensed something was off. Elizabeth was leaving Haven City.

He got up and Keira asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back," Jak said.

That caused for both sets of twins to start crying. "I wanna go!" Katara yelled.

"Me too!" Jaquilin yelled.

"No," Jak said.

He left as they cried and ignored Light's guilt rants. After getting into a zoomer, he sped off for the air train station.

* * *

_Air train station, 8:30 p.m…_

Elizabeth, now wearing a hood over her head, sat on the train, near a window. She looked out of it and saw that passengers were coming onto the train. She immediately blanched when she heard, "You're leaving?"

She looked and saw that Jak had sat next to her. Elizabeth said nothing and began trembling. "Why are you here?" she asked him.

"Why are you leaving?" Jak asked.

"I…can't stay. I can't," Elizabeth said.

"Why not?" Jak said.

"Because…it really is my fault that you…lost your memories and ended up…" Elizabeth told him.

"You couldn't have controlled that. And who told you that, anyway?" Jak said.

"Mom…" Elizabeth said.

"She alive?" Jak asked.

Elizabeth nodded and Jak began to wonder why she would say that. "It's because…well, I…I hated you when you were first born," Elizabeth replied.

Jak looked at her and the train started off with a jolt. "I was trained constantly by Dad and his staff, but when you were born, the staff was commanded by Mom to put all the attention on you. They heard from the Precursor monks that you were destined to save us from the Metal Heads. So, you were given the best of everything and the most they Mom did for me was suggest that I go to boarding school because of my behavior," Elizabeth explained.

"When I heard this, I begged Dad not to and he didn't. But, he wanted me to protect you. I asked why and he said that you're special. I became jealous of you as they gave you all of the attention and…I never could see you due to the monks. I then started to hate you, as you took things from me," Elizabeth said.

"And how did you do that? You…took any love that Mom had for me and I blamed you for it. So, I didn't care for you for about a year. But, when you were nearing your second birthday, I saw you for the first time, just playing with a race car. You looked at me and whatever I felt before vanished. I saw what they saw and I knew that you could save us," she finished.

Jak looked away, trying to stifle whatever anger he felt. "That's why Mom blamed me for what happened to you. I'm sorry," Elizabeth said.

Before he could do anything, the train suddenly stopped with a jolt and the back of the train tore open. "Metal Heads!" someone screamed.

"That's not a Metal Head…." Elizabeth said, knowing what was going on.

A man wearing armor of black and purple walked through the train and the woman knew exactly who it was. Elizabeth grabbed Jak's hand and closed her eyes. The man in black, with small bolts of dark energy coming out of him, said to the people, "So sorry to disturb your passage to Kras City. We're looking for a fugitive. She goes by the name Eliza Magrace. Has anyone seen her?"

One person pointed at the seat where Jak and Elizabeth were. The man walked over to the seats and saw no one. Angered that the passenger tried to trick him (or did they?), the man blasted the passenger with a bolt of Dark Eco, killing them instantly.

'Where are you, Elizabeth?' the man thought.

* * *

_The Forbidden Jungle…_

Elizabeth had transported the two of them in the jungles near Haven City. When Jak came to, he started walking off.

"Hey! Wait!" Elizabeth yelled.

"Go away," Jak said, angered.

"I said I was sorry!" Elizabeth said.

Just before she could get any closer, a blast that looked like it came from behind pushed her back and sent Jak flying into a tree. He hit his head and was rendered unconscious. "Hello there, Elizabeth," someone said.

Elizabeth sighed and turned around. The man that was looking for her on the train walked closer to her and said, "Your mother wants to see you. And why are you hanging around the Mar imposter?"

"I'm not going back," Elizabeth said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"She's so wrapped up in her revenge for Haven City that she hasn't begun to pay attention to what's going on," Elizabeth said.

"Well, I guess the years in Haven City has poisoned you," the man said.

"And your years of service with my mother has as well, Naphtali," Elizabeth said.

She pulled out what looked like pistols that were hidden in her jacket and aimed at Naphtali. Naphtali smirked and summoned what looked like dark warriors. 'Oh no…' Elizabeth thought.

"Take her," Naphtali said and left.

The warriors were about to when a Dark Strike hit them. Elizabeth took that as her cue to run and she did.

As she ran, she could sense the fading presence of the warriors that went after her. The woman suddenly tripped over a branch and accidentally fell down what looked like a steep hill. After suffering bruises, bumps and a few cuts, Elizabeth got up and started running again.

Ten minutes later, she couldn't sense the presence of the warriors and immediately stopped. Gasping for air, she thought, 'Where's Jak?'

"Who am I kidding? After what I told him, I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to rip me to shred," Elizabeth said aloud.

An explosion was heard and the woman took off running again. Much to her horror, the explosion knocked a wumpbee's nest out of one of the nearby trees. So, several of the bees stung her.

A wumpbee's sting is one of the most dreaded things that can happen in life. If stung too many times at once, the poison from a wumpbee can kill. Since Elizabeth was stung by ten wumpbees, the poison's effects became immediate.

She started to hallucinate and her breathing became uneven. In her hallucinations, she saw her father Damas. "Find Mar and bring him here," she heard him say.

Elizabeth also saw her mother, "I told you that going into Haven City was a terrible idea. You couldn't even find him without dying."

The last hallucination she saw, or was it, was Jak's. He yelled at her as she fell to the ground. "Get up!" he yelled.

Instead of doing that, Elizabeth blacked out.

* * *

_Later…_

Elizabeth woke up after hearing someone whistle a familiar tune. She looked around and saw that she was in a cave, next to a fire. When she saw Jak, however, she aimed her pistols at him.

Jak was sitting down, leaning on a wall near the cave mouth. "You can put those down. I'm not gonna fight you," he said.

"Where did you learn that tune?" Elizabeth asked.

Jak shrugged and the two were silent for a while. Elizabeth checked her neck and saw that some bandaging was around it. "You…did this? Why did you save me?" she asked Jak.

He looked at her and said, "You didn't drop me on purpose."

"Huh?" Elizabeth said, confused.

"You tried to help me up and I just slipped out," Jak said.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth told him.

"Don't be. It was an accident," Jak said. He got up and headed for the entrance.

Elizabeth, still feeling guilty, sat there. "You coming?" Jak asked.

Elizabeth nodded and left. 'Thank you…' she thought.

* * *

_For the Walk of Shame song, look up Jimmy Fallon's "Walk of Shame" on Youtube for the song. It's hilarious. And Feliz Cinco de Mayo por mi fan de Mexicana. _


	9. Chapter 9

"_I would say that my life's been quite good lately. I'm the host of Combat Racing. I have millions of orbs and I'm one of the most eligible bachelors of the world. This life definitely beats being an old windbag's mouthpiece. Oh…What was that? Oh…hi Onin…"_

_-Pecker, host of Combat Racing_

Chapter Nine: Exploring

_June 23__rd__, 350 N.P.T, 11:30 p.m.…_

After waiting for nearly two days for Jak to come home, Keira (who sat in bed, watching TV) heard the front door open. Since Keira had heard about an attack on one of Haven's trains that was headed for Kras, she was worried for the past two days. When the bedroom door opened, Keira saw that Jak looked exhausted.

"Where were you?" she asked.

Jak plopped on the bed next to Keira and said nothing. "So, you're not going to say anything?" Keira asked.

He still said nothing, angering Keira. "What happened?" Keira asked.

Jak glared at her and she could see sparks of Dark Eco in his eyes. Keira, slightly fazed, said, "Seriously, what happened? I heard that one of the trains were ambushed by Metal Heads. Were you on that train?"

The man said nothing still and Keira scoffed, angered at his silence. After a bit, the two fell asleep.

* * *

_The next day…_

The kids, in the living room, sat down and watched the educational television with Samos. Jak and Keira had headed to work and the kids began repeating their ABCs.

As the kids watched, they didn't notice that Samos had fallen asleep. When Katara noticed, she got up, climbed over the pen and started wandering around the house. Jaquilin followed and so did the boys.

At the stairs that led to the second floor, the four heard a bump coming from the top. "What that?" Katara said.

"No. Mommy and Daddy said no going up there," Jaquilin said, grabbing her sister's arm.

"I wanna see!" Katara yelled.

"Me too!" both Damas and Junior said.

Katara, using a bit of dark eco for strength, opened the gate blocking the way to four crawled up the stairs and arrived at the top. The second floor had two rooms and a bathroom. Both rooms belonged to Samos and he used on as his bedroom while the other was a lab.

Katara opened up the lab room and saw a suitcase filled with girly clothes. "Huh? This not Grampa's," she said.

Sounds of water falling in the bathroom was heard and Jaquilin opened it. The shower curtain was closed and steam was coming from shower. The girl opened the curtain and saw a lady behind it.

"Huh? GAH! Get out!" the woman screamed.

Jaquilin was blasted out of the bathroom with a wave of blue eco and she hit her head. "Owie!" she said.

Within seconds, she started crying. That angered Katara and Junior. "Attack bad monster-shower!" Katara yelled and went Dark.

Junior did the same and the two charged into the bathroom to attack the "monster".

"_**Bah**_!" Katara yelled.

"_**YAH!**_" Junior yelled.

The two attacked the shower curtains with Dark Eco bolts and, after a few moments, stopped when they realized that no one was there. With a small growl, Katara said, "_**Where the monster?**_"

Junior walked over to the entrance and saw that Jaquilin was still crying. Damas stood next to her and was trying to calm her down. "Don't cry," he said.

Jaquilin stopped and sniffed. She then looked a bit shocked at both Junior and Katara. She noticed the little horns on her siblings' heads and said, "What that?"

Katara checked and found that she had horns. With a shrug, she said, "_**I dunno.**_"

"_**Horns!"**_ Junior said, rather enthusiastically.

Before anyone could ask what horns were, they heard a noise back in the lab. "Evil monster! Charge!" Jaquilin yelled, wanting to defeat "evil monster lady".

Much to Katara and Junior's amazement, both Jaquilin and Damas turned Light and started glowing just how Light did days ago. The kids entered the lab and saw the lady who was in the shower.

She was wearing a grey, hooded sweater, sweatpants and socks. The woman looked at them and said, "Huh? How could did you learn to use your powers like that?"

"_**Attack!"**_ Katara yelled.

The kids charged at her and the woman screamed. When she did, a surge blue eco came from her and the children floated in midair. "_AAH! Evil monster lady got us!"_ Jaquilin yelled.

That caused for Samos to wake up. He noticed that the kids were gone from the pin and immediately got up to start looking for them. Just before he could panic, he felt a surge of eco coming from the second floor.

Samos headed for the stairs and saw that the gate was removed. "How did…? Katara…" he said and headed upstairs.

Back upstairs, the woman looked at the eco-fueled kids and said, "You are indefinitely the children of Mar."

"_Who that?"_ Jaquilin asked.

Just before the woman could say anything, Samos entered. "Elizabeth, I heard screaming."

He then saw the children's appearance. "Great Yakow bones, what happened?"

"_It Katara's fault!"_ Jaquilin yelled.

"_**Nuh uh! Bad lady monster hurt Jaqulin!**_" Katara yelled. The boys nodded and Samos looked at Elizabeth.

"It was an accident. I thought she was someone else," Elizabeth said.

The kids calmed down due to Samos's presence and Elizabeth placed them on the floor. "Well, all I know is that Jak and Keira may have already sensed what happened. You can either stay and face them or you could leave," Samos said.

"I'll…" Elizabeth said.

She then saw that Katara and Jaquilin had started hugging her legs. "Stay!" Jaquilin yelled.

"Why? I don't know you that well and you don't know me," Elizabeth said.

"You look a bit like me and Katara," Jaquilin said.

Elizabeth looked at Samos and said, "If Jak will let me…I don't think he really wants me here. Though I have nowhere to go. But, thank you for taking me in earlier."

"Don't go!" Katara yelled.

"Yeah! Don't go!" Jaquilin yelled.

With a bit of difficulty, Elizabeth packed her things and put on her shoes. She then headed downstairs, with the girls still holding onto her legs. Just before she could open the door to leave, the door opened.

"Oh crud…" Elizabeth muttered.

Jak had entered and he saw that Elizabeth was standing in the doorway. He looked at her, then at the girls and then at Samos, who helped the boys come downstairs. He then looked at Elizabeth and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Jak I'm sorry. I…" Samos said when Jak stopped him.

He then looked at Elizabeth and said, "Samos let me in. I don't have a place to go home to…so…"

"Let her stay!" Katara yelled.

"Yeah! Let her stay!" Jaquilin said.

Jak was silent and the group heard Keira said, "Jak, what do you want for dinner? Pizza or…?"

She entered and saw that Elizabeth was in the house. The girls were latched onto her legs and the boys stood near Samos. "What is she doing here?" Keira asked, wondering why the former Judge Magister was standing in her home.

"I'm wondering that myself," Jak said.

"I just told you. Samos let me in to clean up and get myself together before I go and find a place to stay," Elizabeth said.

Noticing that Jak said nothing, she then said, "Well, I guess I'll…I'll be going now."

The girls, saddened, released their grip and rushed over to their father. "Daddy, don't let her go!" Jaquilin said, teary-eyed.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Katara said.

"Yeah! Yeah!" the boys said.

Jak still said nothing and Elizabeth started to leave. "Hey, Jak. She is your sister. Let her stay," Keira said.

Since Jak said nothing, Keira headed outside and said to the leaving woman, "Hey! Come back!"

Elizabeth stopped and looked. "You can stay until you get back on your feet."

"Thank you, but…I don't think Jak wants me here. Not after what I told him," Elizabeth said.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of that," Keira said.

She then led the woman back into the house. When Jak realized that Keira had allowed Elizabeth to stay, he retreated into his man cave.

* * *

_That night…_

Due to what happened earlier and the feeling of dread that she had, Elizabeth couldn't get to sleep. She was allowed to stay in the second floor lab (after Keira had converted it back to a bedroom) and the door was closed. The woman looked over at the clock and saw that it was 1:30 in the morning.

'Maybe…Maybe I should go. Jak doesn't want me anywhere near him right now,' she thought.

She then saw that the door was suddenly flung open. Elizabeth grabbed her pistols and pointed it at the door. Much to her surprise, no one was there.

"_**You're aiming at the doorway, why?**_" Dark said.

Elizabeth looked and saw that he was sitting on her suitcase as if it was a chair. He had a bit of an amused look on his face as Elizabeth had aimed at him. "Why are you here?" she asked him.

"_**This is my home, so I can do what I want**_," Dark said.

"I thought this was Jak's home. I don't think that a dark eco created half can make such a claim," Elizabeth said.

Dark glared at her and said, "_**We're the same, idiot.**_"

"Well, you're here to kill me…aren't you? Don't try to deny those…homicidal tendencies that you have," Elizabeth said, not putting down the weapons.

Dark suddenly smirked and said, "_**I'm not here to kill you.**_"

"Then why are you here? I know that you're angry over what I said a few days ago. And I'm pretty sure that you want me gone from your sight," Elizabeth said.

The dark half of Jak leaned back against the wall and said in a serious tone, "_**No…I won't…**_"

He immediately smirked against, this time mischievously . "You just wanted to see my reaction? You…you're not just…" Elizabeth said.

Dark, realizing that Elizabeth saw another side to the dark, got up and left. 'He isn't just sadistic and murderous. He can also be…mischievous and curious...like a child,' Elizabeth thought.

She closed the door and said, "I guess the dark isn't as malevolent as I thought."

* * *

_Thanks to KHLegacy and evilanimegenious for their reviews._

_-miano53_


	10. Chapter 10

_Sorry for the long hiatus. I lost the will to write as I started writing my other stories like Life in Radiant Garden, Specials and the Books series. So, sorry. And thanks for the reviews that were left in the drought. And this chapter is dedicated to all those who will start school for the very first time._

_-miano53_

* * *

"_The first day of school for any parent is a great milestone. In Haven City, it's almost like a holiday, especially since Governor Ashelin made her stance on how important education is. So, don't be surprised if you see parents with large video cameras or even news crews at schools…especially since the first set of Mar twins are going to attend Preschool at Central Haven Preparatory Academy."_

_-a tour guide in Haven City_

Chapter Ten: First Day of School, Preschool Edition

_September 1__st__, 351 N.P.T, Mar Household, 7 am…_

Jak and Keira woke up to the sight of Jaqui and Katara jumping up and down on their bed. Jak looked over at the clock and saw that it was 7 in the morning.

"First day of school! First day of school!" the twins chanted.

"I thought I told you two to knock before coming in here," Jak told them.

"Daddy, it's the first day of school!" Katara said.

He looked at the two and saw that they were in dresses. "What are you two wearing?" he asked.

"This is our outfit…" Jaqui said.

"No…You have to wear your uniform…" Jak said, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

Keira woke up and looked at the girls. "Why are you wearing jewelry?" she asked.

"We wanna look nice," Katara said.

"Where's your uniform?" Keira asked.

"I dunno," Jaquilin said.

Elizabeth, who was allowed to stay at the home, was awake and had stood at the doorway. "Jaqui…Katara, let's change into your uniforms and get ready so your mom and dad can get ready," she said, pulling them off the bed and to their room.

Jak plopped back onto the bed and Keira said, "Well, you know you said that you were going to take them."

"I'm currently regretting it," Jak said, putting the pillow over his eyes.

"Well, I'll get their lunches and book bags ready. You just need to get those collar on them and be ready to take them. And don't forget to take pictures," Keira told him.

"Why? It'll be in the news," Jak said, yawning.

"I want something that we took as good parents. I don't want to go to the news station to get photos of my kids," Keira said.

"Fine…" Jak said.

After putting on the prep school's uniforms, Jaqui and Katara rushed out of their room to the breakfast table. There, their mom saw that Jaqui had navy blue ribbons to hold up her two ponytails while Katara had a single bow in hers. Keira had given the two cold cereal and they began to eat.

"The first day of school! Excited?" Keira asked.

"Yes!" Katara said.

"You're not going to cry when Daddy leaves to go to work, right?" Keira asked.

"Daddy's not gonna stay?" Jaqui asked.

"No. The school's for you, not for him," Elizabeth said, fully dressed and coming to the table.

Jak, now fully dressed, came downstairs with his keys and two necklaces. He gave the necklaces to the girls and they put them on. The necklaces held eco crystals that helped regulated their powers and prevented unwanted transformations outside the home. After eating, getting their back packs and lunches, the girls left with their father to head for school.

* * *

_7:30 am, Central Haven Preparatory Academy…_

Jak pulled up to the school and saw that many parents of preschoolers had came. To his dismay, the paparazzi of Haven had arrived and attempted to go through the gate, mainly to take pictures of the girls…and him. He sighed and looked through the girls' paperwork.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Jaqui said, poking him.

"What?" Jak said, sounding a bit irritated.

Jaquilin whimpered and he said, "Sorry. Yes?"

"Um…What's they?" she said, pointing at the news media.

"They're one of our worse enemies," Jak said.

"Why?" Katata asked.

"They invade people's privacy," Jak told her.

He then saw that the principal of the school tell the media to leave the grounds as the children were entering. "The Mar children also need privacy. And it's against the law to take pictures of children and parade the picture around without parental consent!" she said via bullhorn.

The media left and Jak started feeling at ease. He then got out of the car and helped the girls out. The family headed inside and Jak gave the office the paperwork. The office worker looked at him and back at the children.

"First day, huh?" she said.

"Yeah…" Jak said, a bit unenthused.

"Most parents are usually excited. Children out of the house and they have the place to themselves," the woman said.

"Have two more at home…" Jak said.

"Daddy!" Katara said, pulling him.

"I'll put these on file. And you are the primary contact, correct?" the office worker said.

Jak nodded and the rest of the paperwork was finished. After that was over, he led the girls to their classroom. There, the twins looked inside and saw that other kids were there.

Jak saw that other parents were recording their kids first day and didn't see much of a reason for it. He immediately remembered what Keira told him. He cursed inwardly and received a reaction from Light.

'_I told you to get the camera, but no,__'_ Light told him.

'Light…' Jak thought.

'_**And Keira's gonna kill us,**_' Dark told him.

'So she will…' Jak thought.

The twins looked at Jak and then inside. Jaquilin immediately started crying and the parents around Jak started feeling sorry for her.

"I'll be back. You won't be alone, okay? Katara's gonna be there with you," Jak told her.

"But D-Daddy not gonna be there," Jaquilin said.

"Well, your father can't be there. The school's for you," a parent said.

Jaquilin sniffed and Katara said, "C'mon!"

"Katara…remember what I told you," Jak said.

"Don't start trouble," she said.

"'Kay! 'Bye!" Katara said, pulling her twin into the classroom.

With that, Jak smirked and left. When he did, the other parents thought, 'He's not gonna stay?'

* * *

Inside the classroom, Katara and Jaquilin put their belongings in cubbies that had their names on them. Since they were twins, the girls' cubbies were next to each other. After putting the book bags and lunch boxes in the spaces, the girls sat with the class of 28 students in a circle and saw their teacher.

The teacher, a dark skinned woman named Ms. Harpell, looked at them and muttered, "Oh…I'm teaching the Mar twins?"

The students looked at each other and Ms. Harpell said, stepping into the circle of students, "Well, welcome to your first day of school. I can tell that most of you are nervous. So let's break the ice by telling each other our names, what's our favorite animal and our favorite color. When we speak, we speak one at a time. No interrupting as that is very rude. Okay, let's start with you."

She started with one of the boys and when around in a circle. She then got to Jaquilin and she said, "Um…My name is Jaquilin Mar…Um…I like crocadogs and my faborite color is um…white."

"Oh…And she's your twin?" Ms. Harpell asked.

"Yep. I'm Katara Mar and I like guppy fish 'cause they're cute!" Katara said.

One of the kids said, "Ew! Fish!"

Katara stuck out her tongue at them and the children were reprimanded by the teacher. "And what's your favorite color?" Ms. Harpell asked.

"Um…purple!" Katara said.

'Odd…' Ms. Harpell thought.

After going around, the teacher said, "Well, I'm your teacher, Ms. Harpell. I like crocadogs too and my favorite color is red."

"Red's a boy's color!" one of the kids said.

"Well, the color red is for everybody. It's the color of apples, rubies and the setting sun," Ms. Harpell said.

After telling each other their names and some information about themselves, the class began.

* * *

_Recess, 12 pm…_

After eating lunch, the kids went outside to play. For Katara, she made friends rather easily and started playing with them. For Jaquilin, her shyness made it hard for her to make friends. So, she sat in a swing and started playing by herself.

When she did, three boys came over to her and one of them said, "I heard your dad's that Jak Mar guy from the Combat Racing."

"Yeah," Jaquilin said, swinging.

"My parents said that he's a freak!" another said.

Jaqui stopped swinging and was angry. "He's not a freak! What's a freak?" she said.

"My parents said that 'freak' means 'monster' like the ones under the bed," the third said.

"My daddy's not a monster," Jaqui yelled.

"Yeah huh, my dad said so," the first boy said.

"H-He's not a monster. You're a meanie!" Jaquilin said, crying.

"My mom said it's the truth!" the second boy said.

"HEY!" someone screamed.

The boys saw that Katara had came over with her new group of two boys and a girl. "What did you say? Why is Jaqui crying!" Katara said.

"We just told her that your dad's a monster," the first boy said.

That cause for Katara's dark side to surface. The necklace prevented the transformation, but it didn't stop the personality change. She grabbed the boy and said, "Don't you EVER say that!"

"Why not? My mom said it's true!" the boy said.

One of her new friends said to him, "Jason, you're mean!"

"I'm not mean!" Jason said.

"Leave my sister alone," Katara said. The boy saw her glare at him and thought he saw something else. He thought he saw her eyes turn completely black.

What he saw scared him and he and his friends ran off. Katara calmed down and went over to her crying sister. She hugged her and said, "It's okay. They're lying."

Jaqui looked at her and said, "They called Daddy a monster. That means we're mon…"

"No we're not!" Katara said.

"But!" Jaqui said.

"We're not monsters! Don't listen to them!" Katara said sternly.

"Okay…" Jaqui said.

She then looked at Katara's friends and Katara introduced them to her. They, apparently were Sig's adopted children. The girl's name was Najimah and the twin boys were named Jirad and Khalil.

"Hi!" Najimah said.

"Hi!" Jaquilin said, now a bit happier.

"So, your dad's that Combat Racing guy? I wanna meet him!" Jirad said.

"He drives fast!" Khalil said.

"Yeah! I wanna be a racer when I grow up!" Najimah said.

"Girls can't race cars! That's for boys!" Khalil said.

"Girls can too!" Najimah said.

"Prove it!" Jirad yelled.

"My Mommy drove," Jaquillin said.

"See? See?" Najimah said.

A bell rung and the children went inside for a nap.

* * *

_Later that day…_

After picking them up, Jak saw that Katara was elated. Jaquilin, however, wasn't.

"What happened? Was the first day okay?" Jak asked, driving.

"We got new friends!" Katara said.

"They're Mr. Sig's kids," Jaquilin said, not as happy.

'He sent his kids here?' Jak thought.

They arrived at their home around 4 pm and headed inside. Once inside, Jaquilin rushed to her room. Katara, however, went to see her aunt. Elizabeth noticed this and said, "What is wrong with her?"

Much more comfortable around his older sister than last year, Jak said, "I don't know."

He went into the room and saw that the door was locked. "Jaqui. Jaqui! Open the door!" Jak said.

"No!" Jaqui yelled from behind the door.

"Open the door," Jak said.

"No!" Jaqui yelled.

As calmly as he could, Jak said, "Jaquilin Mar…Open the door, now…"

"NO!" Jaqui yelled.

'_**That's it!'**_ Dark said and a bolt of dark eco hit the lock.

Jak opened the door and saw that Jaquilin had assumed her light form. She looked sad and was sitting on her bed. She looked up at her father and said, _"I don't like school._"

"It was just your first day," Jak said.

"_I don't like it. Three kids said something mean to me_," Jaqui told him.

Jak looked at her and asked, "What did they say?"

"_They said that you were a freak…a monster_," Jaquilin told him.

Jak suddenly tensed up and started feeling Dark rise up. He forced the dark eco influence down and Jaquilin said, "_So that means we're monsters too. No one else can do this."_

She pointed at her glowing self and Jak said, "You're not a monster."

"_What about you?_" Jaquilin asked.

"No…Not a monster. But…people only call other people that when they don't understand them," Jak told her.

Jaquilin turned back to normal and hugged him. "You're not a monster to me. You're my daddy," she said to him.

* * *

_That night…_

After getting into bed, Keira saw that Jak wasn't there. She then heard loud punches coming from Jak's man cave. The punches were received by the punching bag and she could hear the poor punching bag being pummeled.

The woman headed down into the basement and kept her distance as she saw large sparks of dark eco being blasted everywhere. The punching bag was reduced to fluff and Keira could hear the snarling and growling sound from her now dark eco powered husband. He had started attacking what looked like the first twins' old crib and started clawing it to pieces.

"Jak…Jak…JAK!" Keira yelled.

Jak, under the influence of Dark, suddenly stopped and started to calm down. "What's wrong?" Keira asked.

Panting, he changed back and looked at her. "Nothing's gonna change here," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Keira asked.

"At the school, the kids there told Jaqui that her father's a freak…" Jak said.

"Was that why you were so angry?" Keira asked.

Jak looked at her and said nothing. "Well, kids learn from their parents. All we have to do is prove their parents wrong. You said so yourself," Keira told him.

"I know…It just…brought back too many memories…" Jak said.

Keira walked over to him and hugged him. He hugged her back and Keira jokingly said, "I guess we need to get you another punching bag."

Jak shook his head and smirked.

* * *

_Yay! After a long hiatus, I finally got a chapter down! Review?_


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